Deltaplast founder Ted Koch passes away

Theodor (Ted) Koch, the founder of Canadian extrusion machinery maker Deltaplast Machinery Ltd., died on June 20 in King City, Ont., at the age of 87.

Born in Elditten, OstPreussen, Germany, Koch was a master machinist before emigrating to Canada at 21. He initially worked at bottle maker Anchor Cap & Closure in Toronto in the early 1960s before joining Toronto-based plastics processing machinery sales firm Danson Corp. in 1965, where he eventually became the company’s service manager and director.

In 1976, Koch branched out on his own by founding Deltaplast, which manufactures single- and twin-screw extruders and related equipment for the profile, pipe and tubing, compounding, reclaim, wire and cable, and sheet markets. Headquartered in Concord, Ont., Deltaplast remains family-owned, being run by Koch’s sons Dirk and Marcus after his retirement as president in the mid-1990s. Koch remained involved with the company for years afterwards as a consultant, and Deltaplast has currently built and installed a total of approximately 1,000 extruders.

During his long career in plastics, Koch also served for several years during the 1970s as the president of the machinery division of SPI Canada, which later became the Canadian Plastics Industry Association; and was also an active member of the Canadian Plastics Pioneers Association.