Injection molder Advent Tool & Mold Inc. is building a 20,000-square-foot addition on to its 35,000-square-foot, custom-built, Rochester, N.Y., facility. The company expects the $1 million addition to be complete by September.
Advent plans to buy four injection presses within the next 12-18 months and will add more as it grows. The 6-year-old company currently has 23 regular presses and two two-shot presses.
Vice President Jim Murphy said the company is looking into opening a second facility in the Southwest in 2000 or later. He said 15-20 percent of Advent's business ships to Mexico already, and ``there is a lot of growth opportunity there.''
Murphy said the growth is not due to new accounts, but to ``further penetration of existing accounts.'' He added that Advent does plan to add new customers with the new facility.
Another reason for growth, Murphy said, is the $1 million investment in a new tool room that houses a high-speed graphite mill, wire electrical-discharge machine and two computer numerically controlled sinker EDMs. He said the new tool room gives Advent ``a lot more capability and capacity.''
Advent also attributes its success to its two-shot molding capability, which can replace secondary operations. The company makes soft-touch grips for cameras and overmolds buttons for electrical switch manufacturers.
Advent serves the business machine, automotive, computer/high-tech and medical industries. Major customers include Valeo SA, Xerox Corp., Lucent Technology Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.
The company employs 120 and reported sales of $15.9 million in 1998.