Growing demand for industrial cleaning equipment has prompted Numatic International Ltd. to expand its injection molding capacity, entering twin-shot molding for the first time.
The maker of floor cleaners and polishers, including its distinctive, cheery-faced Henry tub vacuum, is installing a 270-ton Negri Bossi twin-shot CamBiMat press as part of a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) investment at its plant in Chard.
To start, the press will mold wheels, but the firm expects to use the machine to make other components.
The press is the fifth that Numatic has purchased from Negri Bossi this year, according to Carl Futcher, managing director of the Italian press builder's Negri Bossi Ltd. subsidiary in Warwick, England. Numatic now has 23 injection presses.
The Chard plant employs about 500, and the company expects to post 2002 sales of £60 million ($94 million).