Custom injection molder PTA Corp. has spent about $5.5 million to expand and consolidate its operations in Oxford, Conn.
The project included $1 million in new production equipment. PTA installed three Toshiba electric injection presses in Oxford, a modern materials-handling and drying system and new Makino mold-making machinery.
The presses, with clamping forces of 45, 250 and 390 tons, boost the count in Oxford to eight, Chief Executive Officer Ray Seeley said by telephone. PTA plans to add a 700-ton press there to extend its clamping range, now 45-500 tons, and will install more mold-building equipment.
The new, 53,000-square-foot plant includes PTA's head office, assembly, engineering and storage divisions. It replaces four facilities at two sites in Oxford. PTA opened the new operation July 1.
Seeley said his firm also invested about $500,000 in equipment and upgrading at its leased plant in Boulder, Colo. It added three new presses, most recently a 45-ton Toshiba model, giving it 11 in Boulder, with clamping forces of 45-1,400 tons. The firm closed a small facility in Des Plaines, Ill., in March and moved production to Boulder and Oxford.
Seeley said PTA focuses on low-volume and midvolume molding runs of high-end parts for electronics, computers and business and medical equipment. A typical molding contract would be for 20,000-100,000 shots, he estimated.
PTA's expansion makes it more competitive on price and delivery, he said. PTA now can use flexible work cells that include secondary operations such as decoration and assembly. PTA had sales of $21 million for the year ended Aug. 30.