SAN MARCOS, Texas — There is only one magnet manufacturer in the world that has figured out how to use recycled materials, and it's located in Central Texas.
The work of Noveon Magnetics has caught the eye of top lawmakers, as well as large companies across the U.S.
Gov. Greg Abbott delivered his State of the State address this month from the company.
KVUE was given an exclusive tour of the Noveon facility on Wednesday.
Found at the core of some of the most essential things in everyday life – from electric toothbrushes to wind turbines, from loud speakers to hospital equipment – is a magnet. Noveon produces magnets for motor and generator technology.
Tucked away in a San Marcos business park, Noveon Magnetics is the only magnet manufacturer in the U.S. that uses rare earth materials and is the only global magnet manufacturer that uses recycled materials.
"We are basically reestablishing and reinventing an entire magnet manufacturing space," said Scott Dunn, CEO of Noveon Magnetics Inc.
The company offers a new and superior magnet and solutions that takes advantage of recycling end-of-life magnetic materials to manufacture magnets even more powerful than the ones they replace.
Dunn took KVUE through the beginning, middle and end of the journey of magnet development, describing the technology used to separate magnets into individual components (rare earth material) and shape them for the purposes of their customers. He also described how the company gets a hold of recycled material for use.
The demand for domestically made magnets has skyrocketed.
"The U.S. would have to something like 10 of these facilities every year for the next 10 years to actually meet all of domestic demand," Dunn said.
But right now, with Noveon's particular and mostly private tech and process of development, the company is in its own league.
"We’re just doing everything we can to at least meet some of that demand and offset some of the supply chain risk for these materials," Dunn said.