Two Canadian custom molders expect to lose business from relocation of twotelevision set assembly operations from the Montreal area. Camoplast Inc.'s LaSalle division will lose a contract to injection mold TV cabinets and back covers for Hitachi (HSC) Canada Inc., said Michel Truax, sales manager for the Richmond, Quebec, firm.
``It's not a dramatic problem, but we will have to replace the business,'' Truax said in a March 22 telephone interview.
Hitachi announced in early February that it will stop TV assembly at Pointe Claire, Quebec, in mid-July and move production to Tijuana, Mexico, to reduce costs.
Hitachi Home Electronics (America) Inc. said it opened the Tijuana TV plant in 1986.
Sanyo Industries Canada Inc. also plans to lower costs by closing its Montreal TVassembly plant in June, affecting about 46 employees. It will move production to Forest City, Ark., where Sanyo North America Corp.'s production capacity is 2 million sets annually.
Sanyo Canada spokesman Luigi Romanelli said Canadian molders will not be affected by the move. Mulay Plastics of Addison, Ill., and Engineered Specialty Plastics of Hot Springs, Ark., mold TV cabinet and back cover molders for the Montreal plant. Those same firms also mold for the Forest City facility.
Emco Ltd.'s Waltec Plastics division said its loss of a painted mask contract with Hitachi Canada ``will not have a major impact.''
Waltec President Anton Mudde said his Midland, Ontario, firm did more molding for Hitachi until about 18 months ago, when Hitachi switched some Waltec work to other molders to reduce costs.
Truax said other molders, including Kyowa America Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., also might have contracts with Hitachi's Quebec plant. Kyowa officials could not be reached for confirmation. Hitachi Canada officials did not return telephone calls.
Hitachi's Tijuana plant makes 500,000 TV sets and 168,000 projection televisions annually, Hitachi Canada said in a news release.
Hitachi Canada did not disclose its production at Pointe Claire, where it employs about 75. Truax estimated the plant assembles at least 40,000 sets per year.
