Molded Fiber Glass Cos. recently installed a new, state-of-the-art compression molding press at its Ashtabula, Ohio, manufacturing facility. Richard S. Morrison, president and chief executive officer, said the press weighs 636,000 pounds, and has a bed size of 120 inches by 168 inches. It sits in a specially prepared, 10-foot pit on a 3-foot-thick concrete foundation and towers 39 feet above floor level.
The new press is capable of molding a part as large as a truck hood, and will increase Ashtabula's molding capacity and help MFG keep up with demand for larger parts, Morrison said.
The Ashtabula plant also is adding new shipping facilities. The 12,000-square-foot addition will include a staging area for both shipping and receiving, loading docks that can accommodate as many as eight trailers and a large concrete turnaround area for the trucks.
Molded Fiber Glass Tray Co. in Linesville, Pa., recently added 3,000 square feet to house two new large-capacity, stainless-steel resin storage tanks, bringing to seven the number of tanks at that facility. It increases the company's storage capacity by 40 percent.
The addition includes a covered access area for easier unloading of resin tanker trucks. Enclosing the bulk storage tanks allows the resin to enter the mix room at a constant temperature, providing a more consistent viscosity and mix formulation repeatability from batch to batch.
Molded Fiber Glass Tray Co. began making bread delivery trays in 1953, the first to be mass-produced using fiberglass-reinforced polyester. Although no longer used for bread trays since the bakery industry now has them injection molded in thermoplastic, MFG Tray Co. makes those same trays for the electronics assembly industry.
The company also makes a variety of containers for industrial uses and specialty products for food service.
In addition, it produces trays used to raise sterile fruit flies. According to Morrison, the trays must undergo a high-temperature, high-pressure water treatment and thermoplastic will not hold up.
Molded Fiber Glass Cos., headquartered in Ashtabula, is a composites fabricator with eight U.S. plants.