New England firm builds Wis. plant
TURNERS FALLS, MASS.—Film manufacturer New England Extrusion broke
ground on a facility in Milton, Wis., in June.
The 34,000-square-foot facility will be up and running by February, said
President R. Gary Stetson. The firm built the plant to be closer to
current customers and attract new clients, he said.
Currently, the company runs five extruders and employs 65 at its Turners
Falls headquarters. The Milton plant will house two lines totaling 15
million to 17 million pounds of annual film capacity, and will employ 19,
he said.
New England Extrusion had 1996 sales of $19 million. Stetson expects
sales of $23 million this year, and $29 million in 1998, once the new
plant begins operations.
Stetson did not disclose the cost of the new facility.
Polibak distributing BOPP film in U.S.
HERNDON, VA. — Polibak Plastik Film of Izmir, Turkey, opened its first
U.S. distribution center in early June for its line of biaxially oriented
polypropylene film.
The 10,000-square-foot converting facility in Herndon cost $250,000 and
includes a 60-inch slitter for customized snack-food packaging. The firm
said its largest markets are in the Virginia area.
The site, operated by Polibak Plastics America Inc., the Turkish firm's
U.S. marketing arm, plans to employ 12 by fall.
Polibak, with two tenter lines in Turkey, plans to add a third line next
year, bringing annual BOPP film capacity to 60 million pounds. The
Virginia site will contribute $2.5 million to $3 million to the firm's
total sales of $50 million.
Polibak's product line includes plain, coextruded, white pigmented,
pearlized and metalized films.
Acton invests in coextrusion growth
COLNBROOK, ENGLAND — A small family-run plastic sheet extrusion company
has invested nearly £1 million ($1.67 million) to upgrade and boost its
production.
Acton Plastics Ltd. of Colnbrook, west of London, which produces
polystyrene roll stock for thermoforming, has installed two new Welex
sheet lines, said Andrew Bartlett, director.
The replacement lines, both of which can coextrude sheet, are part of a
regular five-year equipment replacement program and raise the firm's sheet
production capacity from 2.43 million pounds to 3.31 million pounds a year.
Previously, only one of the firm's two lines was capable of coextrusion
output, according to Bartlett. The new sheet lines are based on
90-millimeter extruders and equipped with gear pumps.
The firm produces polypropylene and high-impact PS sheet, selling mainly
to domestic thermoformers. Only about 10 percent of its sales are
international.