Tech Group Inc. has purchased a plant near Indianapolis to use as a launching point for its newly focused Consumer Products Division.
The injection molder will open a facility in Frankfort, Ind., that will be the company's first in North America dedicated solely to consumer products, spokeswoman Shari Krusniak said Dec. 6. The firm will invest $4.5 million in equipment and technology, adding 32 injection presses with clamping forces of 50-700 tons, the company said in a news release.
The facility will begin by molding gaskets and seals for battery maker Rayovac Corp. and an array of packaging products for Procter & Gamble Co. Tech Group, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., had been seeking a consumer-products facility in the Midwest to serve customers there.
The company has another Midwest facility in Grand Rapids, Mich., but that plant is targeted toward the health-care market, Krusniak said. Five of the company's nine North American plants are in Arizona.
In June, Tech Group split into two divisions serving the health-care and consumer markets, with different vice presidents running each. On the consumer side, the firm wants to broaden product categories and plant locations, Krusniak said. The unit is run by Mike Treadaway, vice president of consumer products.
The consumer products division includes personal-care, household disposable items and office products.
``It's the first phase of several initiatives,'' Krusniak said. ``We'll obviously be looking eastward for more growth in the consumer group.''
The Frankfort facility should be fully running by February. The company already has started moving presses to the plant. Tech Group expects to hire about 120 people in Frankfort.
The company ranked 53rd on Plastics News' list of North American injection molders, with $120 million in relevant sales for fiscal 2003, ended June 30.
