TIJUANA, MEXICO - Industrias Nishiba SA de CV is expanding its custom injection molding operations in Tijuana. The company recently completed construction of a 30,000-square-foot facility on property adjacent to the present plant. The new building will house the firm's metal-stamping operation to make room for the expansion of its molding operations.
The firm has added eight injection molding presses, including three from Toshiba Machine Co. America: two with 500 tons of clamping force and one 190-ton press. When those presses are installed, Nishiba will have 29 machines with 30-900 tons of clamping force.
Anis Uz Zaman, vice president for Nishiba, said in an interview at the Tijuana plant that the company plans to add another five to seven presses this year, depending on customer demand. A small, recently completed building expansion houses a materials mixing area, and within a month the company will complete a clean-room area to house secondary operations. Nishiba molds in a 58,000-square-foot facility.
The firm, which employs 320 in Tijuana, also is building a warehouse for raw materials and finished goods there.
Industrias Nishiba is a division of Nishiba Industries Corp. (U.S.A.) of San Diego, founded in 1987 to create a maquiladora in Tijuana. The parent firm, Nishiba Co. Ltd. of Kiryu, Japan, was formed in 1953 as part of a company reorganization from textiles, a market in which Nishiba had been a recognized leader, to metals and plastics manufacturing.
To respond to the global relocations of its customer base, Nishiba established itself in the United States to participate in the maquiladora program. Nishiba serves the consumer electronics, home appliance, electrical and irrigation industries.
Zaman said integrating metal stamping with plastics operations allows the firm to provide complete programs to customers where metal lining is required for shielding in plastic housing components, primarily in consumer electronics.
Nishiba offers mold-building from its Japanese facilities. Services the firm offers in Tijuana include mold maintenance and repair, insert molding, cosmetic and tight-tolerance molding, hot stamping, silk screening, pad printing and assembly.
