A Global Company Is Leaving Its Mark On The Triad

When Hans Jenson returned from vacation in Denmark in 1986, he came back with an idea that spurred a multi-million dollar company and changed the nation's roadways. 

The Triad Business Journal's Katie Arcieri has been reporting on the company, which started out as Flint Trading Inc. and  has grown into a global business. In an interview with WFDD's Emily McCord, she profiles founder Hans Jenson and how his idea grew.

"He was walking out of a store [in Denmark] and he happened to see some city workers melting some plastic material into the pavement across from a pedestrian crosswalk," says Arcieri. Jenson inquired about it and learned that it was a product called preformed thermoplastic, made by a Danish firm. 

Jenson then acquired the rights. After a failed attempt at convincing his employer to sell it in the states, he quit his job and made a go of it on his own.

Flint Trading Inc. would become the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of pavement markings.  Preformed thermoplastics is a mix of resins, pigments and calcium carbonate used to make symbols for roadways. 

"They can be taken out of a box, then placed on the road. Then they're heated with a propane torch that creates a chemical bond to the road asphalt," says Arcieri. "It only takes a few minutes to apply, instead of workers going out there using stencils and going through this laborious process."       

The company is now known as Ennis-Flint and based in Thomasville. It's expected to bring in $540 million in revenue, 14 times more than Jenson ever thought was possible. 

Arcieri says that Ennis-Flint still growing. The Triad Business Journal reported last month that the Thomasville plant may add a reflective glass bead-manufacturing operation, which would add 20 jobs.

"Eventually it will be sold to another company. It could be a coatings company, it could be a chemicals company, it could be another private equity company," says Arcieri. "Hans Jenson is very confident that whoever the next owner is will be successful with it because it's already gained so much success so far."

The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal.