Turbon International closing Pa. factory
YORK, PA. - Turbon International is closing its injection molding operation in York, eliminating 30 jobs.
Injection molding work will stop Jan. 31, according to division manager Karen Santaniello. The 173,000-square-foot site will continue to be used as a distribution center.
Molding of typewriter ribbon cartridges and other impact printing parts will be transferred to a plant in Hattingen, Germany, where Turbon's parent, Turbon AG, is located.
Santaniello said Turbon can achieve cost savings by moving the work to Germany. She added that demand for the products has slowed in recent years.
Some of the York site's 43 injection presses - ranging in size from 25-350 tons - will be transferred to Germany, while the rest will be sold, Santaniello said.
At one time the plant operated 70 presses, but it began to consolidate earlier this year.
Turbon operates 10 sites worldwide, specializing in aftermarket imaging supplies such as inkjet and toner cartridges. The York site, which opened in 1982, was the firm's only North American injection molding facility.
Nypro builds plant in Dominican Republic
CLINTON, MASS. - Nypro Inc. of Clinton is building a 100,000-square-foot facility in the Dominican Republic to make chronic-care products for Convatec, a unit of Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co.
The plant in Haina will employ 300 by the third quarter of 2005, said Nypro spokesman Al Cotton. Nypro is investing more than $5 million in the site.
Nypro already has an injection molding plant in the same industrial park that employs 130.
Convatec is outsourcing some production to free up resources to invest in new products and technology, said Pete Paradessi, Convatec corporate affairs director. Nypro will make pouches, wafers and flanges, which are part of Convatec's ostomy business, he said.
The agreement means Convatec will trim 330 jobs worldwide next year, mostly from plants in Deeside, Wales, and Greensboro, N.C., Paradessi said. A report by BBC News said 150 of 950 Deeside workers will lose their jobs.
Convatec is headquartered in Skillman, N.J., and employs more than 3,000. Its main businesses are wound care and ostomy.
Nypro, which has $900 million in annual sales, employs 12,000 at 65 facilities in 17 countries.
KX Industries boosts injection molding
WATERTOWN, CONN. - Carbon block filter manufacturer KX Industries LP is boosting its injection molding operations with the purchase of a 135,000-square-foot facility in Watertown.
The company had used three Connecticut sites for molding, but is rapidly preparing the Watertown site to be used as a central molding and assembly site.
Evan Koslow, founder and chief executive officer, said by telephone the new facility will employ about 20 and should be operational by Jan. 15. He anticipates the plant will employ 60 by the end of 2005.
``The company's production of plastics is growing very rapidly,'' said Koslow, adding that he expects the plant to contribute upwards of $8 million in sales the first year.
Koslow said KX mainly will mold hardware for its filters. He said the firm in February will install two new presses with 375 tons of clamping force and specialized capabilities for molding polycarbonate.
It's a busy time for KX, as it also opened a 65,500-square-foot technology center Nov. 17 in West Haven, Conn. The center employs 50 and handles part design, modeling and mold flow to support its plastic operations. The center also houses KX's microbiology, filter media, fiber development and paper laboratory departments.
Koslow said KX Industries' water filters are used in high-end refrigerators and other products.
KX, with more than 300 employees, began in 1989 as a joint venture owned by Exxon Chemical Co. and KT Corp. It became a private company in 1997.
Vermont Composites buys another facility
BENNINGTON, VT. - Vermont Composites Inc. has purchased another manufacturing plant to accommodate growth.
The privately held company bought an 82,000-square-foot building on 12 acres in Bennington for undisclosed terms. Vermont Composites will move its head office to the new building, but it will continue manufacturing in its 45,000-square-foot operation in Bennington, less than a mile from the purchased facility.
President Dan Maneely said sales growth spurred the decision to add more manufacturing space. Equipment will be moved to the new facility over the next few months. Maneely predicts employment, now about 140, will reach 200 by the end of next year.
Maneely said his company specializes in engineered composites such as carbon-fiber-reinforced products used in medical equipment, aerospace and other commercial applications. Its processes include lay-up, autoclave and press cure, computer numerically controlled routing and machining, finishing and assembly. It also offers design, analysis and related services.
The ISO 9001-2000 certified company is majority owned by privately held Advance Products Corp. of Los Angeles. Maneely is minority owner. He did not disclose sales figures.
