Coastline Plastics Inc. is in the midst of a $4 million manufacturing and mixing expansion, a maneuver that makes the Yulee, Fla.-based pipe extruder the first to mix and blend chlorinated PVC in its own facility, officials said.
``Historically, when compound is shipped from point A to point B, it will de-mix,'' said Michael Porter, vice president of national sales. ``This gives us better, more consistent blends.''
Within the next three months the firm will add three lines - one dual extrusion line and two singles, for a total of six.
Coastline is also on the prowl to take share in a market where business is a little off, officials said.
Before its expansion, the firm occupied 25,000-square feet with nearly 40 employees. Now, the company is up to 45,000 square feet with a plan to add about 12 employees.
Part of the impetus for the expansion was the reformulation of the firm's Evertuff product, which Coastline reformulated about a year and a half ago to withstand colder outdoor temperatures.
``We've got a few other [product] expansions in the process, but we're not ready to talk about those yet,'' Porter said in a Sept. 4 telephone interview.
By early next year, however, the company will launch an entirely new product line, according to Porter.
Officials would not disclose sales volume or resin throughput. Instead, Porter quantified Coastline's business as 5 percent of the national market, which he said is currently estimated at 80 million to 100 million pounds. He said the company has 30-40 percent of the Florida market for CPVC applications, including residential fire sprinkler systems and products for plumbing and heating systems.
In 1998, Victaulic Co. of America in Easton, Pa, acquired Coastline. Coastline has been in business since 1995, operated by Porter and his brother, Mark.