Beyond PEEK: The Future of High-Performance Materials

 
Supply chain disruptions can force manufacturers to rethink their business strategies and product offerings. When possible, onshoring is the best solution. For Essentra, the acquisition of Wixroyd Group LTD created an unexpected opportunity to transform PEEK production from a supply chain challenge into a competitive advantage through local manufacturing innovation.

As industries demand materials that can withstand extreme temperatures, resist chemical degradation, and maintain dimensional stability under stress, traditional sourcing models are giving way to innovative production approaches that prioritize speed, flexibility, and reliability. Essentra’s Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) production is a prime example of this, as the material becomes more popular amongst manufacturers looking for higher mechanical properties at lighter weight. 

Manufacturing Agility: Local Production in a Global Market

When Essentra acquired Wixroyd Holdings Limited in December 2022, the organization looked to benefit from its vast experience as a supplier of industrial parts specializing in stainless steel and titanium components. Wixroyd was built around CNC cutting expertise and metal fabrication, so PEEK represented entirely new territory.
Adam Constable, International Sales Manager EMEA at Wixroyd, witnessed this transformation firsthand when he and his team took on PEEK production to reduce lead time for customers. 
"Long lead times from international suppliers have become more common because of supply chain challenges across the world," Constable says. "You're asking customers to know months in advance what they need. That's simply not realistic in today's manufacturing environment."
Wixroyd’s solution involved rethinking their production methodology, applying their established expertise in an entirely new domain to create a customer-focused solution. 
"We had limited experience in producing plastic in the sorts of volumes currently being experienced when compared to our metallic fasteners, and the more high-performance plastics such as PEEK was seldom something we could undertake," explains Constable. 
"Naturally, there was a lot of involvement from our Research and Development Team to ensure mass production was both viable and cost effective. After plenty of 'trial and error' I'm happy to say Wixroyd achieved its goal of successfully producing not just standard PEEK items, but bespoke items too.” 
Rather than following injection moulding processes, Wixroyd adapted its CNC cutting expertise developed for stainless steel and titanium components. The results speak to the power of manufacturing innovation. Where overseas products can take up to half a year to be delivered, Wixroyd's in-house production achieved delivery in as little as three days for one Spanish customer. 
"We received the purchase order, and the customer had 15,000 products in hand within three days," Constable notes. "That level of responsiveness simply wasn't possible with the traditional supply model."
For PEEK, injection moulding offers high-volume efficiency but less flexibility. CNC cutting provides responsive production capabilities at the cost of volume throughput, which enables production of diverse component types from a single facility. Modern CNC operations can efficiently produce cap head screws, hexagon bolts, spacers, set screws, and countersunk screws while maintaining the ability to customize thread lengths, sizes, and specifications. The same equipment that handles standard fasteners can adapt to produce specialised components requiring high purity and low outgassing characteristics for critical applications.
For manufacturers serving diverse, demanding applications, flexibility increasingly trumps pure volume efficiency. 
"Our ability to react is far greater now that we have PEEK production in-house," explains Constable. "We can communicate with local site immediately. That's exactly what happened when our colleagues in Spain sent us a priority order, noting the customer urgency for the PEEK products."

Material Properties Driving Market Expansion

PEEK's technical capabilities explain its growing prominence across electrical manufacturing applications. With continuous use temperatures up to 250°C, excellent electrical insulation properties, and outstanding chemical resistance, PEEK bridges the performance gap between conventional polymers and metal alloys. Its low density –approximately one-fifth the weight of metal – makes it particularly valuable where mass reduction is critical.
These properties have opened applications across a surprising amount of industries. For instance, Coffee machine manufacturers now use PEEK's steam and high-temperature resistance. In medical and pharmaceutical applications, biocompatibility and sterilization resistance are paramount, with components requiring high purity and low outgassing characteristics. Food packaging requires X-ray detectability and chemical resistance for washdown procedures. Automotive applications demand high-temperature performance and flammability resistance that can withstand engine bay environments. Defence applications leverage its lightweight, non-conductive properties combined with exceptional durability. Formula One teams are using  PEEK products, and the material’s high-temperature performance and flammability resistance aligns perfectly with automotive electrification.
The breadth of applications demonstrates PEEK's evolution from niche specialty material to versatile engineering solution. 
"Almost every industry that we deal with uses PEEK," Constable observes. "They all have different reasons for choosing lightweight, non-conductive, high chemical and high temperature resistance. It's ticking a lot of boxes for a lot of different industries."

Economic Drivers Behind Material Selection

While PEEK commands premium pricing compared to conventional thermoplastics, its total cost of ownership often proves competitive when considering performance, durability, and reduced maintenance requirements.
The economic equation shifts further when supply chain reliability enters the calculation. As Wixroyd discovered through its PEEK development, customer expectations have fundamentally shifted. The ability to deliver products within weeks rather than months has become a competitive differentiator that transcends traditional cost considerations.
"Customer selection isn't driven primarily by cost considerations anymore," Constable explains. "The determining factor is our ability to deliver on aggressive timelines and maintain consistency in meeting those commitments." This emphasis on delivery reliability over initial cost reflects industry’s greater understanding of supply chain value.
For manufacturers, material costs represent only one component of total system economics. When component failure can shut down entire production lines, the premium for reliable, high-performance materials can be economically justified. PEEK's proven track record in mission-critical applications makes it an engineering strategy for reducing risk and extending component life.
This shift reflects broader changes in how manufacturers approach inventory management and production planning. Just-in-time manufacturing principles, once limited to automotive applications, now influence procurement decisions across industries. The expectation for rapid delivery has created opportunities for manufacturers who can demonstrate consistent responsiveness.
Essentra recognizes the strategic importance of supply chain agility in meeting evolving customer needs. Its investment in developing internal PEEK production capabilities with Wixroyd demonstrates commitment to providing solutions that address both technical performance and current operational requirements. Advanced materials are not just engineering solutions, but can be competitive advantages in fast-moving markets.

PEEK Fitting into the Sustainability Picture

As environmental regulations intensify and corporate sustainability commitments deepen, material selection increasingly considers end-of-life management alongside performance characteristics. PEEK's complete recyclability and compliance with European RoHS directive and REACH regulations position it favorably for circular manufacturing initiatives.

The ability to recycle PEEK components maintains material value through multiple use cycles, which reduces environmental impact. This sustainability profile becomes increasingly important as manufacturers face growing pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility throughout their supply chains.

Manufacturing technology continues to advance. Additive manufacturing methods specifically designed for PEEK promise to make fabrication more efficient and accessible. Enhanced reinforcement through carbon fibre or nanoparticle composites will improve mechanical properties and expand application ranges.

As one of the highest-performing polymers in the world, PEEK is being adopted in e-motor applications such as bus bars, rotor sleeves due to its thermal, electrical and mechanical properties and chemical resistance. It is playing an even greater role in next-generation renewable energy solutions such as advanced solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric components.

Transforming Engineering Strategy

First developed in the 1970s, the evolution of PEEK from specialty material to mainstream engineering solution reflects broader changes in how manufacturers approach material selection and supply chain management. Applications that once required metals can now often be addressed with advanced polymers like PEEK, which provide high performance at reduced weight and greater design flexibility, alongside unique advantages such as chemical resistance and processability.
Manufacturing leaders recognize that material innovation drives broader business wins. As systems become more demanding and operating environments more challenging, the role of high-performance materials is central to engineering strategy.
The Wixroyd-Essentra integration exemplifies how strategic acquisitions can unlock unexpected capabilities when complementary expertise converges. By combining established CNC cutting capabilities with advanced material science, Essentra has developed production approaches that prioritize both performance and responsiveness.
The future belongs to manufacturers who embrace material innovation as a pathway to superior products and more resilient supply chains. PEEK represents just one example of how advanced materials enable engineering solutions that were previously impossible, setting the stage for continued innovation in electrical manufacturing and beyond.