Wentworth Technologies Co. Ltd. is continuing its aggressive expansion, investing $2 million to $3 million this year at its Poland operations and moving to a speedier, international approach to make PET preform molds in as little as two weeks.
The desire to bring the world a little closer has driven Wentworth to enlarge its already growing base in Eastern Europe for both PET blow molds and thermoforming.
The only way companies can succeed in the current stressful business environment is to seek opportunities globally, said President Walter Kuskowski.
``We can't ignore the global market,'' he said.
Wentworth (Booth E10716) is making major changes in its Electra Form Industries unit that will give the company a boost internationally.
Electra Form, a maker of PET preform molds based in Vandalia, Ohio, has adopted a new Fast-To-Market program that will allow it to deliver finished molds in less than 14 days for some applications, said Electra Form Vice President and General Manager Kevin Harrison.
The company has developed proprietary software that allows users around the globe to place orders and specify design drawings online before a project begins.
The company then sends the orders to its manufacturing floor, where machine codes are automatically entered and the project begins, according to Harrison.
The manufacturing of a preform mold can begin in as little time as 10 minutes after the Web-based order is placed over the password-protected Internet site, Kuskowski added.
Electra Form is working with Wentworth's PET production blow mold operation, Wentworth Mold Inc., based in Hamilton, Ontario, to perform a turnkey project.
Wentworth also is adding a PET blow mold manufacturing cell at its plant in Poniatowa, Poland, to provide the molds throughout Europe, Kuskowski said.
The mold-making operation, which Wentworth calls the Super Cell, features automated equipment and milling machines that run as fast as 30,000 revolutions per minute, Kuskowski said. The company plans to create a global blow mold manufacturing base at the existing Poland plant.
Wentworth also has added a second thermoforming line at another plant in Poland and plans to add a third line later this year, he said.
The company will record about $150 million in sales for its current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, Kuskowski said.
