Acrylic block firm moves molding back to the US

PENSACOLA, FLA. (Oct. 6, 8:40 p.m. ET) -- Acrylic block window injection molder Hy-Lite Products is now producing all of its window materials stateside after recently moving its tooling and China-based production back to the United States.

The move is a continuation of the ongoing integration between Hy-Lite and U.S. Block Windows Inc., after U.S. Block acquired Hy-Lite in March.

The collocated companies, which dominate the acrylic block window market in North America, operate out of a 70,000-square-foot plant in Pensacola. The companies also have a 25,000-square-foot window fabrication plant in Tempe, Ariz.

Production for Hy-Lite moved to China under the ownership of Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Inc., which acquired the company along with Parkersburg, W.Va.-based vinyl window maker Simonton Windows; polyurethane and cellular PVC millwork maker Fypon Ltd. in Archbold, Ohio, and Gadsden, Ala.-based Dixie-Pacific Manufacturing Co. Inc. for $630 million in 2006.

U.S. Block always did in-house injection molding, and now has implemented that strategy with Hy-Lite production as well, though an injection molder in Ohio also is helping to supply Hy-Lite, said Roger Murphy, president of U.S. Block and Hy-Lite, in an Oct. 6 telephone interview.

As part of moving production back to the United States, all of the companies’ third-party-made vinyl extrusions are being produced domestically as well.

The plant floor is now comprised of eight injection molding machines, two of which are new to the company. U.S. Block/Hy-Lite added a used Toshiba and a used Mitsubishi press to plant to handle the increased demand. One machine has 500 tons of clamping force. The other has 390 tons of clamping force, Murphy said.

The companies serve primarily the new residential construction markets, but will look to tackle the replacement window market as well as evolve their commercial construction business, he said.

Acrylic block windows provide a virtually identical look to their glass counterparts, but at 75 percent reduced weight, which allows for windows that can open and close as well as increased energy efficiency.

The companies have doubled their employee count in the molding department and will continue to add more as market demand increases, Murphy said. He declined to disclose the number of workers.

The residential home construction forecast calls for housing starts to be in the 1-1.2 million range, he said, a huge increase over the 300,000-400,000 the nation had been experiencing.

“It’s been a long three-plus years in this end of the business,” he said. “Any signs of life are a good thing. We’ve seen some stability in the incoming order level.

“Once we get employment back, I’m sure people will start building again.”

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