2550 West Fifth North St.
Summerville, SC 29483
Phone:843-873-5800
Web: www.thracelinq.com
Lumite Inc.
2100 Atlanta Road #C
Gainesville, GA , 30504-7168
Phone: 770-297-3233
Website: www.lumite.comrn
The company’s corporate office and U.S. manufacturing site is located in Summerville, SC. Thrace-Linq and sister company Lumite Inc.—a geotextile specialist headquartered in Gainesville, GA—are members of The Thrace Plastics Group, owned by Thrace Plastics Co. S.A. of Athens, Greece.
Thrace-Linq was formed in May 2007 when Thrace acquired the well-established agrotextile and geotextile divisions of Linq. Comprised of polypropylene staple fibers ranging from 3.1 to 16 opsy, the company’s nonwoven roll goods are used for drainage, separation, permanent erosion control, asphalt overlay and cushioning
Thrace-Linq recently placed an order for a needling line from NSC nonwoven. The line features an Excelle card and SCADA Expert Supervision system, as well as NSC’s ProDyn technology. Suitable for the production of light- and medium-weight nonwoven fabrics, the system will add 7000 tons per year of capacity to the Summerville plant. The new NSC line is expected to enable the company to expand its presence in the U.S. market.
Thrace-Linq offers products for a asphalt overlay, drainage management, permanent erosion control, FIBC bag production, golf course construction, ground covering, landscaping and road stabilization. Other active areas for the company are sediment control—silt fence, soil reinforcement, specialized carpet backing, subsurface drainage, waste management and winterization covering.
Meanwhile, at Thrace’s Lumite Inc. subsidiary, plans are underway to acquire the Yonah plant of needlepunch roll goods producer Propex Inc. Originally constructed in the early 1990s by Synthetic Industries, the 226,200-square-foot facility, located in Alto, GA, manufactures specialty nonwovens for geotextiles, monofilament filtration fabrics, protective nets and recreational applications. The acquisition is expected to enable Lumite to strengthen its geotextile product distribution capabilities to better serve the expanding global geosynthetics market.
“The acquisition of the Yonah plant directly supports our objectives to increase production capacity and to further expand the company’s U.S. market,” said Ron Rooks, president of Lumite. “The purchase is in accordance with Lumite’s and Thrace Plastics’ mutually ambitious pursuit of an evolving geosynthetics industry. This is an excellent example of how we plan to meet the evolving global market demand with a unified, aggressive approach.”
Lumite was established more than 60 years ago as part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Today the company supplies groundcover, shade and cage and screen materials for a range of agricultural and geotextile end uses. Lumite ground cover is easy to install, cost-effective and a low maintenance non-chemical solution to improve the aesthetic appearance of professional nurseries. Lumite’s field-tested shade fabrics are designed with high density polypropylene resin coupled with UV-resistant carbon black to resist, deflect and even repel many of the harsh elements of nature that can reduce yield.
In the cage and screen area, Lumite’s commitment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded its expertise in all applications of insect screening material. Its UV monofilament screening material is UV-stabilized, resistant to most horticultural chemicals and designed to quarantine crops and desired pollinators as well as excluded unwanted insect species. The products are made to reduce wind fatigue on the enclosed organism and provide protection from sun, wind and rain.
The company also sells Sun Master greenhouse films, designed to combine long-life, superior strength and high light transmission with optional characteristics that transform the film to an active contributor to plant protection, growth and productivity.