GI Plastek shifting molding from Bellville
ELYRIA, OHIO - GI Plastek Inc. is stopping production at its Bellville, Ohio, plant as it reshapes its manufacturing base. The project includes investing $3 million in two reaction injection molding machines in DeWitt, Iowa, and shifting molding from Bellville to a larger facility about 70 miles away in Marysville, Ohio.
The additional presses in DeWitt are the second phase of a $6 million development focused on composites for the agriculture, construction and recreational vehicle markets, President Randy Herman said in a Dec. 19 news release.
The processing equipment includes a 600-ton RIM press with a 14-foot-by-9-foot platen, and a 300-ton unit with a 10-foot-by-6-foot platen. Future plans for DeWitt call for an expansion at the factory and added capabilities to process reinforced urethane. Timing on that project will depend on demand.
The Elyria-based company plans to shift injection molding to Marysville and shutter Bellville to take advantage of more floor space, new equipment and a nearby painting and assembly facility. Bellville now has 27 presses and about 70 employees. The Bellville site may be used for warehousing.
TLC Polyform creditors urge bankruptcy
BEAVERTON, MICH. - Creditors of TLC Polyform Inc. seek to force the thermoformer of horticultural and agricultural containers into involuntary bankruptcy.
On Dec. 13, four firms asked a court to place TLC Polyform of Beaverton under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
According to a filing by secured creditor Group Deltec-Vespromar Inc. of Port Huron, Mich., TPI Polyform owes more than $1.2 million from the September 2000 acquisitions of Cyberplast Industries Ltd. and TFI Plastics Inc. A Deltec funding source, Wells Fargo Bank, has assigned a manager from its Minneapolis office to operate TLC Polyform.
Three suppliers to TPC Polyform listed unsecured debts totaling $300,000. The creditors are Landall Packaging Systems of Flint, Mich., and resin suppliers I. Stern & Co. Inc. of Clark, N.J., and Jamplast Inc. of Ellisville, Mo.
Judge George C. Paine II will consider the petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bay City, Mich.
Primera project to unite Michigan plants
ZEELAND, MICH. - Primera Plastics Inc. has launched a $3.5 million project to build one manufacturing facility that will unite its two separate locations in Zeeland.
The injection molder will break ground on the 66,000-square-foot site in early January, with plans to move in by mid-2003, said Pete Wagenmaker, vice president of administration and a partner in the firm.
The company and its 55 employees now are spread between two leased facilities about two blocks apart - one 20,000 square feet and the other 24,000 square feet, he said.
The new building will provide more space for material flow, a larger area for tool repair and maintenance, and warehouse space. It also will make it possible to expand if the company gains new contracts, he said. Primera will move its 21 presses, which have clamping forces of 40-400 tons, and other equipment.
The business, which opened in 1994, had considered opening a united factory in 2000, but set those plans aside when business slowed, Wagenmaker said. Now its pace has resumed to 2000 levels, he said.
The bulk of the company's sales are to the automotive industry, molding mirror housings and center console components.
Williams Controls shuts Premier unit
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICH. - Williams Controls Inc. has closed its Michigan injection molding subsidiary, Premier Plastics Technology.
Executives for Williams were not available to discuss the closure of the Sterling Heights firm, but noted it in a Dec. 10 statement in Williams' year-end results. Williams had inked a deal two years ago to sell the automotive supplier, but did not close on it.
Williams, based in Portland, Ore., primarily produces automotive electronic throttle controls. In July it restructured its debt, with equity group American Industrial Partners taking a stake in the business. For the year, the company posted $52.5 million in sales, down from $55 million the previous year, in part because of exiting businesses including Premier Plastics.
The firm listed a net loss of $961,000 for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, an improvement from a $9.6 million loss for the previous year.