These items were gathered by Plastics News reporter Steve Toloken at the MassPlastics 2003 show, held Oct. 22-23 in Fitchburg, Mass.
OAR adds prototypes to mainstay mold biz
Mold maker OAR Moldworks is branching out into machining and prototyping as a way to offset slumping business in its traditional mold-building market.
The Providence, R.I., tool builder has spent $1.5 million on equipment for its new subsidiary, Engineered Components Corp., which machines metal parts. And it has put more emphasis on developing prototyping and low-volume production tooling quickly, said President Andrew Rosenholm. The firm has four injection presses.
OAR is targeting the medical market, and does about 50 percent of its business there, Rosenholmsaid.
The machining business is now about one-third of its $4 million in annual sales, with mold making about 50 percent, he said.
Hy-Ten targets growth at medical molding
Injection molder Hy-Ten Plastics has added 10,000 square feet of warehouse space and created a 100,000 clean-room manufacturing environment for medical work and other industries at its Milford, N.H., headquarters.
The firm also has added two electric presses, giving it a total of 18 presses, ranging from 28-270 tons, said President Franz Fritsch. The firm, which has an engineering office in Shenzhen, China, does about $6.5 million in annual sales.
AEC, Injectech offer automation system
Robot maker AEC and automation firm Injectech Engineering LLC said they have formed an alliance to link what Injectech bills as a new, low-cost, flexible automation system with AEC's marketing reach.
Injectech in Torrington, Conn., has developed a platform for bringing flexible automation to the molding floor with a machine that has bolt-on/bolt-off stations for secondary applications like welding, printing and laser marking.
The two firms are not investing in each other, and described the deal as a joint marketing arrangement. Injectech President Ken Heyse said his firm is not contractually limited to working with Wood Dale, Ill.-based AEC.
The deal represents a move in a new direction for Injectech, which until recently worked as an engineering firm designing custom automation systems.
The company has left that business and is now making its own machine, the Revolution, which provides a ready-made platform for automation.
Heyse said the Revolution costs between $42,000 and $48,000 for the basic platform, which can have up to 16 separate stations for secondary operations.
Janco recommits to thin-wall packaging
Custom thermoformer and vacuum former Janco Inc. added a thermoforming machine and a Class 100,000 clean room at its Dover, N.H., headquarters this summer.
The modest investment signals Janco's return to thin-wall rigid plastic packaging for the medical market, which it had been out of for several years, said Phil Killer, medical sales representative.
A corporate restructuring at Janco three years ago had spun its thin-wall medical packaging into a separate firm, and Janco was restricted from that market by noncompete agreements, Killer said.
