SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (Aug. 28, 12:10 p.m. ET) — The Specialty Manufacturing Inc. division of Providien LLC has expanded, reconfigured and remodeled its San Diego plant.
SMI’s capabilities include pressure, twin-sheet, vacuum and thin-gauge forming.
“When we acquired SMI about two years ago, it became apparent the company was growing and would need additional space,” said Jeffrey Goble, president and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Providien.
For the growth, SMI leased a 37,000-square-feet building adjacent to its longtime 25,000-square-foot leased home in San Diego’s Sorrento Valley neighborhood. SMI doubled the size of its tool room to 4,000 square feet in moving the function to the newer location.
The expansion project has “been about increased space to be able to lay out production lines most efficiently” to boost throughput, Goble said.
In a final step, racking installations were completed in July.
About 95 percent of SMI’s output involves heavy-gauge thermoforming of skins, covers and housings with the remainder in thin-gauge forming work.
Goble estimated that more than 90 percent of SMI sales and its customer base focuses on medical device applications. SMI obtained certification under ISO 13485 in April.
Founded in 1972, SMI in earlier years was working on more commercial and industrial programs.
Plastics News’ March 5 ranking of North American thermoformers said SMI employs 58, operates 17 thermoforming lines and does estimated sales of $13.5 million.
