Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
June 22, 2006 02:00 AM

Prent has major plans for Puerto Rican site

Mike Verespej
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Extending its global reach, medium-run custom thermoformer Prent Corp. opened a plant in Yauco, Puerto Rico, southwest of San Juan, in June. The plant is expected to account for 10 percent of the company's production now and even more over the next two years.

    ``We have the space to more than double'' the 26,000-square-foot plant over the next couple of years, said Joseph Pregont, president and chief executive officer of the Janesville, Wis., firm.

    Prent is one of the largest thermoformers of packaging for the medical industry, with almost 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space, one-third of that in Janesville.

    Prent designs and manufactures blister packs, pressure formed trays and clamshells. More than 50 percent of its sales come from medical customers, with electronic applications the next-largest segment.

    Like its other plants - in Janesville; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Johor, Malaysia; and Shanghai, China - the $8 million Puerto Rican plant will use custom-built thermoforming equipment, designed and built by Prent, that incorporates robotics.

    ``We expect to be a major supplier to the medical-device and pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico very rapidly,'' Pregont said. The plant currently has two thermoforming machines, but will have ``up to six in two years,'' said Walt Walker, executive vice president of operations and vice president of manufacturing.

    ``The Puerto Rico plant will have all brand-new quick-tool-change equipment,'' Pregont said in an interview at the Medical Design and Manufacturing East show, held June 6-8 in New York. The plant will employ anywhere from 50-100 people ``depending on the extent of automation,'' and a second production line is likely to begin operating next month, said Pregont, who took over the reins at the family-owned business in 1984.

    Similar to the two other North American plants, the Puerto Rico plant will be heavily medical, with some electronics customers. Walker said the Asian plants are primarily electronic, followed by consumer products and ``a little medical,'' which he expects to grow. He said automotive-related packaging can be manufactured in any of the plants.

    Pregont foresees ``rapid growth the next 20 years'' in medical and electronics and he expects to continue expanding in the firm's current markets, particularly Southeast Asia and Latin America.

    ``Global supply has become of bigger interest to our customers,'' Pregont said. ``They are looking at China and not seeing it as a source of inexpensive labor, but as a huge market for their product because there are 250 million middle-class people.''

    The Chinese plant opened in 2004 and Prent became sole owner of the Malaysian plant in 2002, buying out a partner in the 8-year-old plant. Altogether, Prent operates nearly 50 thermoforming machines, including 24 in Janesville, nine in Johor, eight in Flagstaff and six in Shanghai. About 500 of its 1,100-person workforce is in Janesville, with the next largest concentration, 300, in Johor. Flagstaff and Shanghai employ about 125 each.

    All of its manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001:2000-certified and the company is vertically integrated in its rigid sheet extruding process. More than 50 percent of its product runs are two hours or less, with the rest being production runs of between eight and 20 hours, Walker said, although some electronic product runs go for several days.

    About 70 percent of its machines are 4 inches in depth of draw and another 20 percent are 8 inches in depth of draw. The rest are 60 inches in length with a 2-inch draw, primarily to make medical catheters, as well as appliques for the automobile market.

    Pregont said two of the largest drivers of growth are the explosive developments in invasive-surgery and drug-delivery products and the search by medical-device manufacturers for lower-cost products.

    ``We are seeing the windows of thermoforming being pushed further and further'' as companies seek products with less weight and more cushioning ability to replace precision injection molded parts, Pregont said. In addition, he said thermoforming products also are making inroads in the medical and electronics markets because tooling costs are typically 10-20 percent of the tooling costs associated with injection molding.

    ``That is one of our biggest growth areas and moving us in electronics,'' Pregont said.

    The second-generation CEO said the $67 million company expects to continue to capitalize on its ability to build its own thermoforming machines, produce precision cut dies and fabricate its own advanced aluminum tooling. Prent also writes all the software that run its machines.

    ``We have greater uptime and less scrap and can operate our equipment more efficiently with less labor,'' he said.

    Prent's other edge: its strategy of building identically sized manufacturing equipment. That means the firm does not have to tie up a specific piece of equipment to make a specific product.

    ``It provides us and our customers tremendous flexibility,'' in turning around orders quickly, Pregont said.

    Also, because all of its units are essentially the same, Prent can diagnose machinery problems from its headquarters in Janesville and move production from plant to plant when necessary.

    ``Every one of the pieces of equipment are fairly identical,'' Pregont said. If a natural disaster disrupts production in a specific location, ``production can be shifted elsewhere because we have interchangeable equipment. Our multiple-plant production capabilities allow us'' to maintain production in the event of a natural disaster.

    Pregont also said he believes that being a privately held, family-owned business gives Prent ``a distinct advantage'' over some of its publicly owned competitors.

    ``We can always do the right thing,'' said Pregont, including paying 100 percent of the health-care premiums for its 1,000 employees and offering a company-paid profit-sharing plan that has averaged double-digit payouts the past 29 years. ``We have the ability to make decisions at the expense of profits short-term and not have to answer to anybody. What happens to us five years from now is more important than what happens next quarter.''

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Covestro signs deal to add solar power to Texas site
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Kickstart: Paper bags, 'paper' bottles
    2
    Resin Prices
    3
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    4
    PP recycler PureCycle sees Ohio plant as springboard for growth
    5
    WL Plastics building $40M MDPE pipe plant in Texas
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified