In spite of any economic downturns, Clairson Industries LLC, a custom injection molder in Ocala, Fla., has been quite busy. During the past few months, the company finally has caught up after purchasing a new injection molding press, President Clo Kilkelly said.
``We were working weekends and overtime to keep up, and that's costly for a company,'' she said.
Clairson makes plastic hardware that holds shelving in place, as well as vinyl wire coatings and other products for customers that include Bausch & Lomb Inc. and Hoshizaki America Inc. A large order caused a backlog in January. ``We had to get additional capacity and we had to get it quick,'' Kilkelly said by telephone.
Clairson purchased a 330-ton Husky Hylectric press and a 96-cavity mold to help with production problems, and Kilkelly said she is pleased with the results.
``We're running it five days a week, and we're still seeing 30 percent faster cycle times,'' Kilkelly said.
Clairson has 19 presses, with clamping forces of 40-550 tons. The company also has a portable Class 100,000 clean room and has added a Class 10,000 dedicated molding room. Kilkelly said the company is poised for growth, especially in the medical industry.
``We've been getting into that niche of the business,'' she said. ``We're constantly looking for new equipment to add.''
She said the company does mold making, parts molding, assembly and packaging in-house. Parts are sent out only for sterilization. Clairson is adding few engineers to work with the clean room equipment, Kilkelly said.
Clairson is preparing for future growth as well. The 25-year-old firm plans to expand in the next six months, moving manufacturing into its warehouse, then building another warehouse, she said.
``We're totally revamping our water system, and that's quite an investment,'' she said regarding preparations for restructuring.
