Andy Claytor joins Elite Elastomers as vice president of sales

Ripley, MS – Elite Elastomers, Inc., a specialty rubber compounder, announced that Andy Claytor has joined the firm as vice president of sales to lead Elite Elastomers’ growth in the custom rubber mixing industry. Claytor will oversee the development of Elite Elastomers’ sales, marketing and customer service organizations, building upon a strong foundation put in place by Steve Glidewell, the company’s founder. “Andy’s expertise in selling deeply technical, value-driven products and his strong relationships throughout the industry will be instrumental in growing our custom rubber mixing business,” said Murli Nathan, executive chairman of Elite Elastomers. “We are thrilled to welcome Andy to our team as we add scale to our platform to take advantage of the exciting opportunities in the industry.” “Elite Elastomers has a strong platform of technical expertise and a customer-first approach to doing business, and they are positioning themselves to grow rapidly over the next several years,” said Claytor. “I’m very excited to join the team at this formative stage to spearhead the growth of this business.” Claytor joins Elite Elastomers with over 30 years of experience in the rubber and plastics compounding industry. After beginning his career with Burton Rubber in 1988, Claytor held sales leadership roles at Preferred Rubber Compounding, Teknor Apex, Hexpol and Alphagary, eventually leading Hexpol’s sales efforts in the northeast U.S. as vice president of business development. Elite Elastomers is a specialty rubber compounder that uses its deep technical expertise to go beyond traditional custom mixing. Since its founding in 2001, Elite Elastomers is said to have developed a reputation for excellence in rubber compound development, and currently serves customers throughout the southern and midwestern United States. Elite Elastomers is headquartered in Ripley, MS. In February 2021, Elite Elastomers was acquired by DestinHaus Capital, a private equity investment manager with deep experience in the specialty chemicals and industrials spaces. Since the acquisition, DestinHaus Capital has made several investments in manufacturing technology and personnel to facilitate the company’s growth.