Selectech Inc. said it is investing $1.5 million to add two injection presses later this year to make new recycled products.
The Taunton, Mass., firm uses recycled PVC, polypropylene and polyethylene to make items for industrial flooring, traffic, housewares, and lawn and garden markets. Selectech recycles in-house, then injection molds the regrind.
The company started in April 1996 with one injection press and 5,000 square feet of leased space. Last December, it acquired its second press and expanded to 30,000 square feet. In June, it added another 5,000 square feet for storage space, with an additional 5,000 to be incorporated by the end of the year.
One of the machines to be installed will increase throughput as much as three times, to 12 million pounds per year. The equipment will make parts of more than 100 pounds for the landscaping industry, such as planters, edging and splash guards.
``We're selling out [our products]; we're maxed out,'' said President Tom Ricciardelli. ``We need capacity.''
He added that the firm just started making planters and is bidding on several big projects involving 2-foot-by-2-foot vinyl flooring and a 12-quart pail.
Selectech employs 29 and intends to hire eight more people when the new presses arrive. By the end of the year, the firm will have two 200-ton presses, a 300-ton press and a 400-tonner. Ricciardelli would not disclose the equipment manufacturer.
Post-industrial materials include PVC and some films. Everything else — stretch film, grocery bags and wire insulation — is post-consumer. The firm uses equal amounts of granulated and densified materials.
Selectech targets specific products to make, then works with companies to sell them exclusively. For example, its industrial flooring product has been brought to market by Premier Tiles Inc. of Monmouth, N.J. Parking stops, speed bumps and lane dividers are sold via direct mail through Batavia, Ill.-based Barco Products Inc.
``We want to grow as fast as feasible and bring out new products quickly,'' Ricciardelli said.
