GM Nameplate opens China facility
SEATTLE - GM Nameplate of Seattle has opened a facility in China to decorate plastic parts such as flexo-printed labels and die-cut components.
The wholly owned foreign enterprise, GM Nameplate Printing (Dongguan) Co. Ltd., began operating in late June. The 12,000-square-foot facility in Dongguan employs 50. The company is considering a second shift, which could add 30 operators.
GM Nameplate can expand the plant's size and capabilities as needed and may add screen printing and nameplate production. In the near term, the firm will outsource processing.
Separately, the company maintains a joint venture in China with a long-term supplier. A growing number of GM Nameplate customers have opened operations in China in recent years. Now, the firm can transfer complex production projects from its North American or Singapore sites to a company-owned site in China for customers with Asian facilities.
Republic opening 3rd U.S. plant in Ariz.
MCQUEENY, TEXAS - In an $8.5 million investment, disposable tableware maker Republic Plastics Ltd. is opening a plant in San Manuel, Ariz., its third in the United States.
The McQueeny-based firm eventually will hire nearly 100 employees for the 201,000-square-foot facility, the former site of a copper mine, according to the Arizona Department of Commerce.
Republic makes private-label plates, bowls, saucers and lunch trays that are sold through major big-box and grocery retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger.
Officials with Republic did not return calls seeking comment before deadline.
The Arizona Department of Commerce granted the company a job-training grant of $193,182 to hire and train 25 employees for the plant's launch. The firm has plants in McQueeny, and East Knoxville, Tenn.
MGM readies for another expansion
HENDERSONVILLE, TENN. - Window manufacturer MGM Industries Inc. of Hendersonville is expanding again. After completing a 100,000-square-foot expansion in 2004, the company already has broken ground for an additional 107,000 square feet.
``Mainly, we are doing it for shipping needs,'' President Abe Gaskins said by phone, adding that 27,000 square feet will be for shipping.
The site will be 400,000 square feet when it is finished. Gaskins estimates the addition will cost $3.5 million.
It has been a good year for MGM. The firm expanded its product line this year, has seen productivity rise 40 percent and added 40 workers and two new Davis-Standard extruders.
MGM's 2004 sales exceeded $20 million, and Gaskins estimates that 2005 sales will reach $30 million.
Parker adding 43,000-square-foot site
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WIS. - The honey bear bottle is getting new digs.
Custom blow molder Parker Plastics Inc. of Pleasant Prairie will open a 43,000-square-foot plant in Hagerstown, Md., by the fourth quarter. The site will be Parker Plastics' third production facility, officials said. It operates plants in its headquarters city and in Sand Springs, Okla.
Those facilities make PET bottles, do extrusion blow molding and container decorating, according to the company Web site.
The company's most famous product is the honey bear bottle. Parker Plastics was founded in Tulsa, Okla., as an injection molding company. It entered blow molding in 1989, when it began making honey containers.
The firm has annual sales of $21 million, Chief Executive Officer Jim Parker said in a Sept. 1 telephone interview.
Williamsburg worker dies at Ky. factory
WILLIAMSBURG, KY. - Josh Wilson, 25, an employee of Williamsburg Plastics Inc., died in an Aug. 27 incident at the factory.
Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley confirmed the death, but provided no other information. The Williamsburg-based injection molder declined to comment.
Mark York, a spokesman for the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the agency is looking into the incident.
