History of Innovations

	Building a Better Mousetrap... Kryton Goes Global A Family Affair Capitalizing on Growing World Markets Change Equals Opportunity Kryton Milestones

Building a Better Mousetrap...

It’s true. If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.

Having worked as a boy with a family friend who was a builder, Kryton’s founder and chairman of the board, Ron Yuers, learned his way around a construction site at an early age. After several years of business experience Ron moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1969. He soon formed Canwest, a company that specialized in selling and applying concrete waterproofing systems.

Vancouver’s wet and rainy climate proved to be particularly challenging for most waterproofing applications and, before long, he began receiving customer complaints that these “surface” waterproofing materials weren’t working.. So, he set out to find concrete waterproofing systems he could apply with confidence.

Partnering with local scientists and universities, Ron developed a brush-applied crystalline waterproofing technology that thoroughly penetrated and completely waterproofed concrete below the surface.

It was not long before Kryton International was formed in 1973 to manufacture and market Krystol™ concrete waterproofing systems. Ron knew he had created a better mousetrap and was eager to deliver it to a global audience. With the assistance of his wife, Jeanette he began traveling throughout North America and around the globe, promoting Krystol.

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Kryton Goes Global

In Australia, Ron met a contractor who was experiencing similar challenges with existing waterproofing technology. The contractor began using Krystol T1 and, before long, he became a licensed Kryton manufacturer, opening a plant in Melbourne. Kryton was now a truly international company.

Krystol T1 was equally well received in Asia, and Kryton quickly secured distribution partners in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Back in North America, the United States Navy had begun testing Krystol T1 in Bremerton, Washington, as an alternative to conventional physical concrete waterproofing membranes. Successful test results led to significant contracts with the U.S. Navy and Boeing Aircraft Company. In 1979, Kryton opened an office in Seattle, Washington.

In 1975, Ron was approached to source a long lasting exterior coating for housing restoration. Unable to locate an existing product in the marketplace that met the stringent requirements, Kryton’s lab went to work. The result was a state-of-the-art, long-term exterior coating system, and before long, Kryton had created a complete line of concrete wall & floor coatings, industrial strength cleaners, sealers and water repellents.

In 1980, the Mexican government began testing concrete waterproofing materials from around the world for use in a major bridge building project in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Based on the test results, Kryton secured both the bridge contract and a Mexican distributor. A licensed Kryton manufacturing plant soon opened in Mexico City.

Reflecting Ron’s drive to constantly innovate, Kryton’s in-house laboratory was now researching new applications for Krystol technology. In 1979, Kryton introduced the world’s first crystalline waterproofing admixture. Boasting the same reliable crystalline technology as Krystol T1, it can be added right into the concrete mix, saving construction time and costs.

Ron Yuers’ global vision for Kryton paid off in the early 1980s, when the North American economy took a sharp downturn. But while the North American economy ground to a halt, the Asian market began to boom. Demand for Krystol T1 and the Krystol admixture rose dramatically, despite the depressed North American market, and Kryton experienced record profits.

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A Family Affair

In the mid-1980s, Kryton became a full-fledged family operation. Throughout their high school and college years, Ron Yuers’ daughter and son, Kari and Kevin, worked in the company. They worked in the production plant, as applicators in the field, in the company laboratory and in the office, learning the business the old fashioned way – from the bottom up.

After some years in private industry, Kari Yuers joined Kryton in 1991. She immersed herself in the industry, taking an active role in many industry associations and quickly becoming known as an expert in concrete admixtures. She was appointed president and CEO of the company in 2001. Kevin Yuers joined the company full-time in 1994. After successfully managing his own construction company, Kevin became involved with the operation and management of the company’s assets around the globe. Today, he serves as Kryton’s vice president and chief operating officer.

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Capitalizing on Growing World Markets

In the early 1990s, Kryton inked a deal with a licensed manufacturer in the Czech Republic, and another plant was opened. Not long afterward, Ron Yuers traveled to India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of a Team Canada trade mission. It was a highly successful trip, as Ron signed a joint venture agreement to open a factory in India. Kryton later bought out its Indian partner in 2004, and now owns 100% of the plant.

Recognizing the exponential growth potential in the South East Asian market, Ron also partnered with one of the largest and oldest chemical suppliers in Indonesia to establish a Joint Venture manufacturing plant in that country.

Ron also knew that the Chinese market held tremendous growth potential and in 1999, Kryton formed a joint venture with a Chinese company, and opened a factory outside of Shanghai. Three years later, with the Chinese construction market growing in leaps and bounds, Kryton opened a regional office in Beijing. This office was recently expanded in 2005.

Also in 2005, Kryton International launched the Krystol Waterstop System. Based on Krystol technology, this advanced joint design system addressed many of the problems presented by traditional construction joint waterproofing systems.

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Change Equals Opportunity

By 2000 the construction industry had finally begun to accept crystalline concrete waterproofing as a viable – even superior – waterproofing option. Krystol Internal Membrane received a Most Innovative Product award at the 2003 World of Concrete. Kryton concrete waterproofing was named one of the top trends to watch for in 2006 by Concrete Construction magazine. And the phones at the Kryton offices were ringing off the hook!

Recognizing a huge global opportunity and to better serve our growing distribution partners, Kryton International decided to focus on meeting the huge demand for crystalline concrete waterproofing. The company consolidated all of its wall & floor coatings systems, sealers & water repellents and industrial strength cleaners into a new diversified opportunities division separate from the core crystalline product line.

Of course, some things never change. Kryton’s goals are the same as they were back in 1973. To identify marketplace needs and develop real-world solutions, to continue our worldwide growth and to maintain our reputation as a proven innovator who acts with integrity, provides world-class service, and delivers better mousetraps.

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Kryton Milestones

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