Morrison Molded Fiber Glass Co. is moving its unit that makes pultrusion machinery, PTI, from Twinsburg, Ohio, to MMFG's headquarters city of Bristol, Va. ``We have one more machine to build in Twinsburg, and after that machine is built, all future machines will be built here in Bristol,'' said Glenn Barefoot, MMFG's marketing manager.
The machines will not be made at MMFG's headquarters plant. Instead, the company has contracted with a Bristol machinery manufacturer that will assemble pultruders from MMFG components.
Barefoot declined to identify the machinery maker.
PTI, originally known as Pul-trusion Technology, was founded in 1981 by Jeff Martin and Joseph Sumerak. They sold the company to MMFG in 1989.
In its 15 years, PTI has sold about 150 pultrusion machines and pieces of auxiliary equipment, such as slitters and wind-ers, to composites companies around the world. Of that total, about 75 were pultruders.
MMFG is moving PTI to centralize production of machines and better control costs.
``We just determined that (PTI) would be better able to utilize our pultrusion expertise'' in Bristol, he said.
Workers will complete the final machine in Twinsburg by mid-May. Employment in Twinsburg averaged about 38. Now, he said, 13 people work there. That will be trimmed to a core group of six employees, including the general manager, head of technology and salespeople. It will retain an office in Twinsburg for them.
MMFG is itself a major pultruder, making window components, gratings and other products. At Bristol, MMFG makes pultrusion machines for its internal use. After the move, the PTI machines will remain as a brand for sale to other pultruders.