Custom injection molder Mid-State Plastics Inc. recently completed another expansion of its Austin, Texas, facility. Mike Smith, sales manager for the Texas division, said the 25,000-square-foot addition is the company's second in as many years, and brings the plant's total size to 75,000 square feet. The company added 10 new presses to fill some voids on the lower- and higher-tonnage ends of the scale, said Smith, including presses with 30, 650 and 850 tons of clamping force. Mid-State's Texas facility now has 32 presses, with clamping forces of 30-850 tons, to make parts for the medical and computer equipment industries. All the new presses have robots. Mid-State has a Class 100,000 clean room with 18 presses.
Mid-State also offers complex assembly and subassembly, decorating, and mold maintenance and repair. Molds are built at the company's Seagrove, N.C., plant.
The Texas plant employs 217, up from 75 two years ago. Smith said the company recently bought property across the street from its present location in Austin and plans to build another plant in 1998.
Mid-State is part of Anchor Advanced Products Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn. Anchor has six manufacturing sites and more than 200 presses. Anchor was 18th in Plastics News' 1996 ranking of North American injection molders.
