Holland Plastics Corp. of Grand Haven, Mich., is on the verge of a major expansion, and executives are planning for strategic changes. "We have been breaking apart at the seams," sales manager Don Pellegrini said in a telephone interview. "Over the last couple years, we have progressed from a shoot-and-ship operation to a value-added operation" including assembly.
"We had no assembly 24 months ago," Pellegrini said. "Now we have three or four assembly operations going at any time" mostly for automotive and office furniture customers.
The firm anticipates investing $3.5 million to construct a 60,000-square-foot addition and acquire new equipment over three years.
Holland Plastics expects approval of a financing package under the Michigan Strategic Fund bond program in early April.
"The footer is poured," Pellegrini said.
The molding operation moved from Holland, Mich., in 1995 and leased the 50,000-square-foot Grand Haven building with an option to buy. The firm intends to exercise that option soon.
The company has a stand-alone Mold Works Division that occupies 15,000 square feet in Holland and employs two designers and a half-dozen tool builders, Pellegrini said.
The Grand Haven operations employ about 100 full time and 25-50 on a temporary basis.
Holland Plastics' December acquisition of an 800-ton Van Dorn press exacerbated the space problem. "We are making large parts and need to warehouse them," he noted.
The press molds parts for a play seat in Chevrolet's Venture van under a contract from Johnson Controls Inc.
Holland Plastics' molding operation has 25 presses of 40-800 tons.
Other recent acquisitions included 300-ton and 70-ton units. The larger presses are Van Dorns, and the smaller ones are Toyos.
End markets include aerospace, medical, heating-ventilating-air-conditioning and marine in addition to automotive and furniture.
The business began in the mid-1960s as part of the Ultra Corp. in Chicago. Glenn Anderson, the owner's son, relocated operations to Holland in the mid-1980s.
Holland Plastics had sales of $13 million for the fiscal year ended July 31. That included $7.9 million from molding, $3.1 million from assembly and $2 million from mold making.
Recently, managers have worked with a strategic planning facilitator.
"We have to make decisions on who we want to be and where we want to go," Pellegrini said. At this time, "we want to be a Tier 1 to the office furniture industry and a Tier 2 and 3 to the auto industry."