Tessy Plastics Corp. is opening a new, 28,000-square-foot injection molding plant in Dundalk, Ireland, close to Xerox Europe Ltd.'s new production complex. Elbridge, N.Y.-based Tessy is investing about 5 million Irish pounds ($6.3 million) in Dundalk and will create 115 jobs in the next five years. In April, the plant will begin molding ink tanks for Xerox Europe's inkjet printer cartridges, according to Pat Coyne, Tessy's new local general manager.
Meanwhile, Tessy has a $10 million expansion project under way in the United States. The firm is adding 53,000 square feet of plant space at its Elbridge facility, and another 25,000 square feet at its Lynchburg, Va., site.
Tessy said it will add as many as 30 injection presses at the two U.S. sites this year.
The Lynchburg project is being handled in phases. The company already has added 10,000 square feet, and expects to move into the full extension by May. Tessy expects to occupy the Elbridge extension by April 1, according to President Henry Beck.
Beck attributed the growth to expanding business in the medical, telecommunications and business-machine sectors.
Tessy currently operates 68 injection presses, Beck said in a telephone interview from the Elbridge headquarters.
Tessy had announced plans to enter Ireland a year ago. At the time, the company said it was exploring a partnership with an Irish molder while it sought a suitable site for its own plant. However, Beck said it was simpler to go it alone since Tessy did not find the right partner.
Tessy has worked with Xerox Corp. of Stamford, Conn., for more than 20 years. When Xerox decided to establish a European complex at Dundalk, it invited Tessy to serve that operation, Beck said.
Work already is under way on the $504 million Xerox complex, which includes five factories handling hardware, assembly, electronics, toner and components on a 104-acre site. The operation will manufacture inkjet printer cartridges and heads, power supplies and electronic assemblies, and will develop software.
Cartridge production will begin in March. Initially, Tessy will supply ink tanks from its U.S. plants.
Tessy's Dundalk plant will start with one 80-ton, all-electric Sumitomo press. A second press, a 110-ton Sumitomo, is scheduled to arrive in March.
Coyne said three to five more Sumitomo presses, with clamping forces of 110-200 tons, will be added this year. Molding for Xerox should be in full swing by June, Coyne said.
Demand for the molded ink tanks supplied to Xerox is expected to rise in the next four years to about 116 million units annually.
Coyne said the Xerox molding business is being "spread around" among suppliers in Ireland: "There's plenty of it there."
Other molders handling work for Xerox in Ireland include Tech Group Inc. and Nypro Inc.
Coyne said Tessy will seek other customers for its Irish operation. He said he expects the firm to capture other business in six months to a year.