LUQUILLO, PUERTO RICO - Siecor Corp., a joint venture between Siemens Corp. and Corning Inc., plans to incorporate injection molding into its manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico. Dick Lauzon, operations manager for the company's Caribbean plants, said the plant will relocate from its current building in Luquillo to a larger, 45,000-square-foot facility in Rio Grande to accommodate the captive molding operation.
Siecor does its own molding as well as metal fabrication at its other facilities. Initially, Siecor will install about 10 Engel presses with clamping forces as great as 400 tons.
The Puerto Rican operation was owned by GTE until Siecor acquired it in October 1992. GTE outsourced the molding, Lauzon said, but Siecor prefers vertical integration of its manufacturing for better cost control and enhanced just-in-time ability.
Siecor in Puerto Rico supplies the telecommunications industry with two major products: protection devices to prevent lightening strikes from knocking out telephone service, and network interface devices consisting of a box with electronics through which phone lines enter a home or office.
The plant employs 150.
Lauzon said current Siecor suppliers know of the company's plans, and that molds gradually will be phased out and into Siecor's operation during a three-month period. The move and installation of the molding operation is expected to be complete by the second quarter of this year.
