CHICAGO (July 14, 2:10 p.m. EDT) — Screen-changer manufacturer PSI Polymer Systems Inc. is expanding to new headquarters, adding laboratory facilities and substantially increasing its capacity.
PSI, based in Hickory, N.C., will move into a new, 14,000-square-foot facility by October, from its current 4,500-square-foot plant. Both plants are in Hickory.
The company also introduced several new products at the show, including a hydraulic slide plate screen changer, a temperature probe and an extrusion gear pump.
“We see the business growing at a fairly rapid rate,” said President Glenn Woodcock. The company started just over three years ago and anticipates reaching $2 million in sales this year.
The expansion will enable the company to install an extrusion lab for both research and development and customer testing, Woodcock said. The company has 14 employees and will be adding staff, he said.
Besides the new factory, the company is introducing its first hydraulic plate screen changer, adding to its line of continuous and manual screen changers. The screen changer, developed by PSI consultant Bart Jones, has a patent-pending seal design and a guard to prevent polymer spray from injuring employees, Jones said.
Jones founded former screen changer firm Extek Inc., which later was purchased by Dynisco. He said his noncompete clause ended about a year ago and he was recruited to PSI by Woodcock, a former Dynisco executive.
The company also is introducing a temperature probe designed to measure the temperature profile across any extrusion line. The unit will let technicians determine flow patterns, core temperatures, wall temperatures and melt homogeneity, the company said.
PSI is also showing a new extrusion gear pump with an improved seal and an internally lubricated pump.
The company makes polymer filtration equipment, extrusion gear pumps, static mixers, divert valves and complete systems.