Eldon James Corporation—Industry Leaders in Manufacturing World-Class PVC-Free Products

“We embrace our values to provide customers with exceptional service and products. We are committed to continuously learning, using, and improving strategies to enable global competitiveness.”

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is found in a range of products, from children’s toys to building materials to food packaging to medical sectors. World Health Organization describes PVC as the most toxic plastic, and vinyl chloride, the chemical used to make PVC, has been described as a known carcinogen. PVC, because of its high chlorine content, creates toxic pollution in the form of dioxins, which accumulate in animals’ fat up through the food chain. Exposure to PVC often includes exposure to phthalates, which may have serious health effects.

Plastics should not compromise our health, safety or environment. Thanks to everyday consumers demanding change, usage of PVC is finally becoming less common. The good news is that PVC can be replaced with safer materials in virtually all cases. It is high time to use clean and safe plastics in medical, beverage, and automotive products. Many industries are coming up with innovative ideas to manufacture PVC-free plastics.

Eldon James Corporation is a market leader in manufacturing PVC-free plastics. It is an innovative, world-class manufacturer and global supplier of proprietary and customized connection solutions to a wide variety of industries. Eldon James manufactures a wide range of standard and custom hose fittings, including adapters, couplers, elbows, reducers, and bulkheads. The company started to manufacture extruded plastic tubing, medical-grade tubing and formed tubing in 2007. The firm’s PVC-free tubing and connectors serve a broad spectrum of domestic and international market sectors such as transportation, automotive, medical device, and water purification industries. It is one of the only tubing and connector manufacturers that can manufacture, assemble, and package tubing and fitting assemblies in a single cleanroom environment.

The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Marcia Coulson: Interview Highlights

What motivated you to establish this company?

I enjoy helping customers solve problems and was looking for a proprietary product line that we could manufacture and continue to build.

A well-defined mission and vision is the secret behind the success of many firms. What is your company’s M&V statement?

We embrace our values to provide customers with exceptional service and products. We are committed to continuously learning, using, and improving strategies to enable global competitiveness. We are dedicated to supporting community improvement, education, and environmental stewardship.

Can you tell us about your products in brief? How do you ensure quality with such a wide range of products?

Eldon James manufactures PVC-free plastic tubing and 6000 types of fittings used to connect tubing including its new SeriesLock^TM quick disconnects.

Being able to manufacture a proprietary product line allows us to continually optimize and become more efficient. We own our interchangeable tooling allowing us to maintain and create new tooling quickly.

How does your PVC-free tubing and connectors serve other industries?

We have found that every industry is interested in removing PVC from their product. Our customers who are in beverage and beer have made statements, “Nobody wants their beer to taste like a shower curtain” and “PVC is the weakest link in beverage dispensing”. Hospitals are asking medical device manufacturers to supply products that are PVC-free to minimize the exposure due to endocrine disruption, links to ADHD, cancer, and lower sperm counts due to PVC exposure.

What are the factors that you consider before creating a custom fitting?

We work closely with customers to consider how many of our interchangeable inserts can be used to minimize their cost and shorten the time it takes to create the tooling.

What makes your company stand out from the competition?

We work hard to be the supplier our customers enjoy working with. That means we answer our phone without subjecting the customer to an answering system, we have helpful and friendly customer service representatives, we keep parts in stock and ship orders on time and always strive to be their most reliable supplier.

How do you market your products?

We have created a website that makes it easy for customers to find what they are looking for. We also have distributors that do a great job of promoting and selling our products.

Do you have any new services/products ready to be launched?

We are excited about our 24 lines of tubing that are available off the shelf for testing. Our new SeriesLock^TM quick disconnects— shuts off the flow, features a spring-free flow path, and has a much larger flow path than competitive products. Our sizes range from 1/16” ID to 1” ID, SeriesLock^TM is gaining a lot of interest in Pharma, Medical, Beverage, and Automotive markets.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

We will continue to learn more about the markets we serve and continue to create new products to solve problems. Besides, we continue to be inspired by conversations with our customers that lead to our new products.

The Ardent Visionary Behind the Triumph of Eldon James Corporation: Marcia Coulson

Marcia Coulson serves as the President of Eldon James Corporation. Coulson has been with Eldon James for 33 years since the company’s founding in 1987. Ms. Coulson is very attentive and knowledgeable about medical product molding and extrusion. She has an extensive background and a vast knowledge of medical products.

Ms. Coulson’s commitment to producing/providing high-quality products is one of the major reasons for her continued success in this field.

We work closely with customers to consider how many of our interchangeable inserts can be used to minimize their cost and shorten the time it takes to create the tooling.