Beach Mold & Tool Inc. is establishing two injection molding operations in Mexico and has ended a 2-year-old joint venture in New Braunfels, Texas. The New Albany, Ind.-based company acquired a 9,000-square-foot structure in Reynosa, Mexico, and, in late February, began operating two presses. The site, near McAllen, Texas, employs seven.
Beach expects to begin molding and custom assembly operations by June at a 10,000-square-foot plant in Queretaro, northwest of Mexico City. The plant, now under construction, has three employees.
Beach sold its interest in joint venture LMS Beach to a unit of Lightning Tool & Design Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Ill., in December. Until now, neither owner had announced the change.
Beach and Lightning formed the venture in December 1997 to make computer enclosures using Beach's expertise in plastics processing and Lightning's capabilities in metal fabrication.
Beach installed injection molding presses in a Lightning plant, committed to construct its own building nearby and created a separate molding entity known as Beach Texas.
In mid-1998, LMS Beach invested in a large, full-service manufacturing site in Tullamore, Ireland, and also established a Houston center to assemble computer chassis quickly using parts made in New Braunfels.
Those operations continue using the revised name Lightning Manufacturing Solutions.
In addition to its headquarters plant, Beach Mold operates a plant in Emporia, Va. It reported sales of $168 million for the fiscal year ended May 28.