was born out of the desire to do those things that other companies found too difficult and thus make a difference in the world of metals. At the time, 1990, I was trading metals in Philadelphia and Royce was teaching math in our home town on Long Island. We had a son together, but at 8 years old (David is now president of Exotech), he only was able to see me on the weekends. Not a great family sit
uation for us as parents of five children in total. We both requested leaves of absence from our jobs, got in our car and drove to Florida where we had some friends and expected beautiful weather. A new start, building a unique company, and doing it all together as a family. Our former employers were very supportive. In each case they told us a job would be waiting for us if we returned. This safety net was not only very comforting, but it allowed us to make an aggressive start of our new company, Exotech. We started by renting a 5,000 sq. building in an industrial park in Pompano Beach, FL. Exotech purchased a used Kevex XRF so we could identify metals. Then we set up a small chemical processing line, which has always been at the heart of what Exotech does. We bought and processed exotic metals (hence the name) like Tantalum, Niobium, Tungsten, Molybdenum, Indium, and other minor metals. As our expertise in the industry continued to grow, so did our company as we hired more employees and rented more buildings. We then advanced technologically to also produce ultra high purity Chromium powder for the electronics industry. It took about two years to show a profit, but we did it by self-funding our growth. We were never beholding to the banks or outside partners. And to this day, we are proud that Exotech is 100% self-funded and debt free, including inventory, equipment and buildings/property. In 2000 we decided that instead of renting, we would purchase a building, also in Pompano Beach, FL. The 20,000 sq. building is on 1.5 acres. Then in 2012, we purchased the adjoining building of 25,000 sq. on 1.3 acres of land. The entire facilities are encased within a ridged steel fence with 360 degree camera surveillance. Today, Exotech is a family of 36 employees with David Gussack leading as President (a far cry from me, Royce, and a truck driver when we started). We are proud to see David sitting on the Board of Directors for the Minor Metal Trade Association and the Executive Committee for the Tantalum Niobium International Study Center. Exotech was the first company to be Conflict Free certified dealing with 100% Tantalum Scrap and we have renewed our CFSI certification every year. In 2016 we achieved ISO 9001 registration We have a world class chemical processing facility with all appropriate environmental controls, two sophisticated chemical labs with state of the art instrumentation, and expanded physical processing machinery to produce products matching all customer specifications. Over the next few years we will be expanding even further by adding new chemical processing, machining, and physical processing capabilities. While our passion will always remain with Tantalum and Chromium, we are continuing to diversify our portfolio. By applying similar processing techniques and the same commitment to quality, we are now critical suppliers of Niobium, Tungsten, Molybdenum, Zirconium, Hafnium, Vanadium, etc. Our commitment was and continues to be to produce products that have the highest level of quality in our industry, to be user friendly to our suppliers and customers, and to constantly seek improvement in both quality and technology. Our goal in 1990 was to ‘make a difference’, and we honestly feel that Exotech has made its mark on our industry.
