CIO Bulletin

MG Chemicals: Meeting the needs of customers with the highest quality

The electronic industry is by and large a part of everyone’s life; whether through school, work, or personal needs, electronics are a given necessity. However, to manufacture these everyday essentials, certain types of chemicals are required in order to guarantee a sustainable, strong, and long-lasting base.

MG Chemicals is a company that has stood the test of time since its inception in 1955; it manufactures chemicals for the electronic industry. As a manufacturer of performance materials, they provide everything from specialty adhesives and greases, to protective coatings and electronics maintenace supplies. MG is a family company headquartered in Ontario.

CIO Bulletin sat down for an interview with the team at MG Chemicals.

Q. How did MG Chemicals come into existence? Can you talk about some of its milestones?

MG Chemicals was started in 1955 as MG Products Ltd. by founders Morton and Gale in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The couple ran a radio repair shop but struggled to find effective cleaning fluids, so they formulated their own cleaning solution, which was the company’s foundation for the first 25 years. They then sold the company in 1982 to Bob Clark, who had extensive knowledge of the packaging industry and promptly changed the company name to MG Chemicals Ltd. Slowly, throughout the 1980s, the company broadened its portfolio into industries such as printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping and cleaning accessories. By the 1990s, operations had been transferred to Ontario, Canada, where the company had the largest market and quickest access to raw material vendors. During this period, MG was also gaining a foothold in the American market, signing up major national distributors like Allied Electronics. By 1995, MG Chemicals had aligned its operations in compliance with the ISO 9001 Quality Management system at the request of its then biggest customer. MG passed its first audit and has retained this certification ever since. In 1997, Bob’s son Howard, a physics graduate from the University of British Columbia, joined the company and was instrumental in bringing many processes that had historically been outsourced under the company’s direct control, such as product formulation, MSDS creation, and website design. Throughout his tenure, Howard has developed many of the departments that make up the company today, such as research and development, regulatory, IT management, and financial controller. He served as company CEO for many years and now serves as Chairman. In 2004, construction began on a new 100,000 ft2 facility in Burlington, Ontario, which the company formally moved its Ontario operations to upon completion in 2006, where they remain today. Throughout the 2000s, MG expanded its North American presence by building its distribution network and adding key partners such as Digikey and Mouser Electronics. MG’s brand recognition grew over the years as the company continued to execute its strategy of developing a full product portfolio and delivering world class customer service. It soon began to penetrate markets in Asia and Europe, culminating with the company opening its Manchester, UK, location in 2015.

Q. What are the qualities that have allowed MG Chemicals to endure for over 60 years?

One of the key drivers for MG’s longevity is its consistent branding, which has never strayed from focusing on supporting the electronics industry. This strategy has allowed the company to focus on our customers’ needs and direct strategic investment towards product development, marketing, and sales that bring value to both the company and our customers. Another key pillar of the company’s success is its customer service. The organization prides itself on the relationships it has built over the years through both its distribution and business-to-business channels that have helped the company thrive.

Q. What prompted MG Chemicals to focus on this specific field? What are the various products offered by MG Chemicals?

Since its inception in the 1950s, MG Chemicals has understood that the appetite for electronics at both the consumer and industrial level is a key economic driver. The company has branded itself as a solutions provider to help extend the longevity of electronics, helping the customer realize a better return on investment. The MG product portfolio includes specialty greases, adhesives, conformal coatings, conductive coatings, potting and encapsulating resins, specialty cleaners, and soldering accessories.

Q. What challenges have MG Chemicals faced over the years? How has the company overcome them?

Unlike many of our competitors, who target more narrow and defined market segments, MG Chemicals’ strategy focuses on gaining market share across several product groups, including adhesives, EMI shielding coatings, protective coatings, and potting resins. This strategy positions the company to pursue opportunities not available to competitors; however, it does demand that employees develop competencies across multiple disciplines like electromagnetism, material science, optics, and radiation physics, to name a few. Keeping ahead of the learning curve to be able to competently interact with customers has been a major challenge within MG that has not subsided with emerging technologies. By recruiting staff from multiple disciplines, the organization was able to build its intellectual capital and subsequently leverage that for sales by offering first class customer support.

Q. What advice would you give to up-and-coming companies to help them survive in the market as long as MG Chemicals has?

Developing a coherent and engaging company culture cannot be understated as a key driver of success in today’s business landscape. Understanding your customers and aligning corporate strategy around their needs is what dictates an organization’s investment and daily activities, but the right company culture is what separates a solvent company from a profitable one. It is incumbent that senior leadership recognize their employees as their most valuable assets and gives them opportunities to reach their full potential. This strategy will not only lower attrition rates but also boost productivity and help attract new talent.

Q. Would you like us to highlight something important happening in your company? What is something you would like us to highlight?

MG Chemicals is releasing several new products to expand its line of thermal interface materials (TIMs), including thermal adhesives, thermal greases, and thermal gels. These new products have been engineered to offer exceptional thermal conductivity and low bond line thicknesses to provide our customers with the performance needed to meet the demands of today’s circuitry. We expect that these new products will open MG to new opportunities in the demanding market space of thermal management, which has seen sharp growth in recent years.

Q. What are MG Chemicals’ plans for the future?

Under the leadership of our new CEO Jason Rogers, the company plans to continue its international expansion and capture market share within certain product groups it has designated as key growth drivers. Specifically, MG recently hired Terence Kearns as head of international business development, who has a wealth of business development experience within the chemicals industry and can help better establish a presence in key international markets. Also, building off the success of its UK warehouse, MG has plans to establish more regional distribution centers globally to help support its international sales targets.