Diam International plans to relocate HQ
WOODSIDE, N.Y. - Merchandising display major Diam International plans to relocate its head office from Woodside, in Queens, to Yonkers, N.Y., in the summer.
Diam will lease a 435,000-square-foot building and expects to move there in the summer after renovating the facility. Diam said it will continue to operate the Woodside site, as well as its other New York-area locations in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Diam said in a news release it does not anticipate any layoffs of full-time personnel, as the new facility will provide more capacity for its growing business. The move will create as many as 700 jobs in Yonkers, according to a report in the White Plains, N.Y., Journal News. The Yonkers operation will include injection molding of plastic shelf fixtures used by cosmetics and other consumer products companies.
Diam designs, makes, installs and maintains custom-made, high-end retail displays such as wall and counter units, kiosks and interactive displays. It has annual sales of more than $270 million and 2,500 employees.
Bhar adding injection molding presses
FORT WAYNE, IND. - Injection molder Bhar Inc. has two new presses on order, set to expand production for new business.
The first of the 2,500-ton Krauss-Maffei presses is to arrive at the Fort Wayne company in April, with another set for delivery in June. Bhar also plans to buy a third press in early 2005. The investment will bring Bhar's total fleet up to 19 presses, with clamping forces of 300-3,000 tons, company officials said.
The equipment will fit into a 36,000-square-foot expansion Bhar completed in 2002.
The privately owned firm makes fender liners, cowl vents and other products for the automotive industry. Bhar will put the presses to use on existing accounts and to meet increasing business in the auto, recreational and industrial markets.
PVC Container no longer up for sale
EATONTOWN, N.J. - PVC Container Corp. has decided not to pursue a sale of the company.
The Eatontown company had received several proposals, Phillip Friedman, president and chief executive officer of the blow molder and compounder, said in a news release. The company recently completed a review launched in May, after hiring Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray & Co. to assist in the search.
The company, which is traded over the counter, had said in May that its stock was undervalued and that it wanted to generate higher returns to satisfy majority owner Kirtland Capital Partners of Willoughby Hills, Ohio.
``In the end, however, it was our belief that none of these [proposals] merited further effort by us,'' Friedman said.
The stock has been trading at around $3.45 a share, a rise from $2.48 a share when the review was announced in May. The company recorded $90.4 million in sales for its most recent fiscal year, ended June 30.
Aptec takes on more project management
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - Aptec Corp. is taking on more project management responsibilities as its U.S. customers increasingly hand off various tasks to suppliers in Asia, said Jeffrey Badovick, president and chief executive officer.
The Daytona Beach firm traditionally has provided a full range of engineering and design services in the United States. Clients still want Aptec to handle industrial design but, in a big change from last year, many now prefer to delegate manufacturing-engineering tasks to Chinese firms that often give away those services as a negotiating tool to win business.
``We in business definitely have to get creative and look at diversified business models,'' Badovick said.
Badovick said he was surprised at how quickly mechanical and electrical engineering tasks are migrating to China. ``Right now, it seems [original equipment manufacturers] are interested in keeping industrial design here.''
Aptec is managing projects in China and learning the country's business strategies and culture. ``They are different,'' Badovick said. ``Our customers don't feel they can have enough control over industrial design'' if done offshore.
Aptec, which employs 15, uses OneSpace.net technology to manage projects, keep communication regular and look at physical designs instead of waiting for a trip to Asia, Badovick said. CoCreate Software Inc. developed the collaboration tool for engineering data and project teams.
