Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 12, 2001 01:00 AM

Epco Machinery develops moving business

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    SALINE, MICH. — What started out as a routine machine repair job developed into a whole new business for Epco Machinery LLC — moving an entire plastics factory.

    Epco Machinery LLC coordinated the move of Jac Products Inc.'s plastics operations — all 40 injection presses, four extruders, 21 robots and other auxiliary equipment — into a new, 178,000-square-foot plant in Saline that supplies parts for Jac's automotive roof racks. Epco also installed eight new Milacron presses — seven all-electric machines and an Autojector vertical-clamp press — that were shipped directly to the plant.

    Epco, with 110 employees in Fremont, Ohio, is best known for its expertise in plastics equipment remanufacturing.

    But for the Jac Products move, the company morphed into "Epco Van Lines," coordinating with local riggers and electricians.

    "That's not too bad moving a few machines, but moving a whole plant at once is difficult," said Ernie Babon, director of corporate industrial engineering for Jac Products. He was project manager for the construction and move.

    Jac Products pumps out more than 63 million plastic parts a year for the roof racks and other trim parts. At its former complex in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jac was forced to shuttle parts among three buildings, even back and forth across the street.

    Epco acted as general contractor for the three-month move. The company was responsible for disconnecting and moving each machine out of Jac's former operations in Ann Arbor. At the new building, Epco hooked up the machines and got everything running. Epco dedicated eight employees — full-time — to the Jac project.

    Along the way, each machine got a dose of Epco's preventive maintenance.

    Although the move from Ann Arbor to Saline covered just a few miles, it posed a major challenge.

    Automotive customers aren't going to stop an assembly line while a supplier irons out production. Jac did build up some inventory in advance, but the goal was to remain as close as possible to full production during the move. That meant Jac and Epco had to schedule carefully when each machine would be moved.

    Jac Products showed off its gleaming new factory at a Feb. 23-24 open house. The plant features a central materials-loading system that can pull resin from any one of 12 silos to any of the 33 hoppers, then on through seven miles of piping to any machine.

    Epco President Steve Schroeder hopes the moving business can evolve into a major activity for Epco.

    "We are currently quoting about five more projects similar to this, in various sizes," he said.

    The company already gets a lot of refurbishing business when presses on the way from plant to plant make a stop in Fremont, he said.

    Epco actually backed into the moving job for Jac.

    About 18 months earlier, Jac sought out Epco for its more traditional machinery fix-up expertise.

    "They had a vertical press that was down and they needed this press desperately," said Brian Binder, Epco's contract service manager.

    Epco rebuilt the linkage. That was followed by a second press repair job.

    At one point, someone at Jac Products mentioned the company was building a new plant. After some informal discussions, Epco made a proposal.

    Originally, Jac officials were going to handle the move themselves. That would have required hiring and synchronizing work among a rigger and several other contractors.

    Babon said Jac "wanted one source, one contact," for the project.

    Epco did individualized maintenance for each machine, installed molds, mounted robots and other auxiliary equipment, hooked up electric power and extended piping for water and air to the machines.

    Epco got to work in early October, as soon as the new building was ready for occupancy. Epco scarcely had unbolted its first press when Jac learned its landlord had sold one of the three buildings in Ann Arbor — the one with all the molding machines. Jac had to be out of the site by January, Babon said.

    On Jan. 8, Epco was done, and Jac Products was in full production in Saline.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Materials firm Tosaf adds capacity in North Carolina
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Entek expands US lithium-ion battery separator capacity with two new plants
    2
    ExxonMobil set to bring on new olefinic elastomer capacity
    3
    Viking Plastics invests $3 million in eight new injection molding machines
    4
    Polymer Points Live May 2022: Buyers see increases for PET, nylon and polycarbonate
    5
    Brückner Group USA buys new HQ site
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified