MANKATO, MINN. (Dec. 21, 1:20 p.m. ET) — Custom injection molder Imperial Plastics Inc. plans to set up a third plant in Minnesota.
The Mankato Planning Commission has voted to rezone a parcel of land so that a 69,120-square-foot plant could be built in an industrial park there. Mankato City Council will vote on the proposal Jan. 14.
“We see an opportunity to solve problems and an opportunity to grow our business out of our geographic base through new technologies,” Norman Oberto, Imperial president, said in a telephone interview. “We are developing technologies to attract customers outside the Midwest,” Oberto said.
Using closer-tolerance molding and multimaterial molding are among the strategies planned by Imperial, based in nearby Lakeville, Minn., where it runs two molding plants.
Appro Development Inc. of Lakeville, Minn., is the building contractor for Imperial’s Mankato project.
The construction plan also accommodates enough area to double the new plant’s space.
Imperial would like to start construction in spring and finish it by fall. The facility would employ about 125.
Imperial runs 121 injection presses ranging from 42-950 tons of clamping force in Lakeville, as well as three structural foam machines and one blow molding machine. It also does automated assembly.
Major markets include consumer, industrial, medical, recreational, auto and plumbing.
The company was established in 1968 and employs about 525 in Lakeville. Oberto became its owner 16 years ago.
