Let’s play a guessing game. This thing can be the rainbow. It’s not a product seen on a shelf. It’s not a product held in your hand. But it does make everything better…

It’s liquid pigment systems and intermediates (bet you got that one), manufactured right here in Sandusky, Ohio. Colorants are the specialty of American Colors, and they are used across the world and across a wide array of industries. We won’t point fingers, but strolling an aisle of a home improvement store you’d almost certainly run into a product with a touch from American Colors – paints, adhesives, grout, asphalt, landscaping and more. The company also services the plastics, coatings, fabrics, and cosmetic industries. Everything’s made better with color!

American Colors’ increasingly diversified customer base has been driving growth for the company across all its locations, including a major expansion this year at its Sandusky headquarters and a strategic acquisition in Europe.

A multi-million-dollar investment at the Sandusky site will expand manufacturing, warehousing, and research and development capacity and improve efficiencies with a new layout. More room for machines and activities. A new clean room (a controlled environment for manufacturing specialty products) will be leveraged by the American Colors research and development team to continue exceeding customer expectations. It looks beautiful but colorants are a complex business. Each project with a customer must explore end use requirements, vehicle type, particle sizes, viscosity, packaging, pigment type and loading. The American Colors team brings a cross section of skills to solve the equation from chemists to physicists to mathematicians.

President Matt Kosior is excited about what this facility expansion will mean with modernization and opportunities for the Sandusky team. “Buildings are simple, this project is all about people at the end of the day.” Upon completion of the building expansion, Sandusky will be solidified as American Colors’ biggest plant, most versatile plant, and the corporate headquarters. The American Colors portfolio also includes manufacturing plants in Tennessee, Texas, China, and as of January this year, Bergamo, Italy. American Colors had been exploring options to gain market presence in Europe and found the right fit with acquisition of Colorificio Migliavacca, a 110-year-old company recognized for producing difficult pigment dispersions with excellent quality and service.

Now selling in 42 states and 14 countries, American Colors has come a long way since 1975 when the company was founded with two people who made product at night and sold it the next day. Kosior explains the culture set by the co-founders lives on today. “It’s not just profitability. Our team truly enjoys the process of growth – adding customers, servicing customers, treating them better than anyone else can, regardless of size.”

Congrats to American Colors for mixing up a bright future in more ways than one.

The 12 Days of Development email series recognizes and celebrates another year of progress in Erie County, Ohio. December 5th - 16th , you will receive email spotlights on a company investing, improving and innovating in our community. We can't capture it all, so let us know a neighbor we missed or what activities you've got planned to make the 2023 list! #ErieCounty12Days