Pontiac Coil Inc. is expanding its recent acquisition, Advance Plastics Corp., at a cost of about $2.5 million. Advance Plastics will add a 30,000-square-foot addition at its Schoolcraft, Mich., injection molding and tool-building plant. This firm plans to add at least 10 injection presses, with clamping forces of 750 tons, and mold-making equipment this year.
Advance Plastics has been doing most of the injection molding required by Pontiac, a Clarkston, Mich., producer of electromechanical devices, according to Dick Wheeler, Advance Plastics general manager. Wheeler said his firm will continue to supply molded components for Pontiac's production of solenoids, automobile parking-lock mechanisms and other assemblies for automotive, telecommunication and industrial markets.
Pontiac General Manager Jim Brendel said his firm bought Advance Plastics in early April but only recently announced the deal. Terms were not disclosed. Brendel said Advance Plastics will act independently of Pontiac.
Wheeler said in a telephone interview that Advance Plastics mainly molds for automotive suppliers and plans to expand its business in that sector. Sales, currently about $9 million a year, will rise when the company has more press capacity for new molding jobs. It now operates 15 presses with 60-300 tons of clamping force. Its tool division can build molds big enough for 700-ton presses.
The two former owners of Advance Plastics are continuing with the company. Hank Schmidt is director of the molding division and Greg Gusterson is director of the tooling division.
Pontiac, a private company, has annual sales of about $70 million.