Custom injection molder Double O Plastics Inc. is building a 34,000-square-foot facility as part of a nearly $2.6 million project to boost capacity.
``The new building will be wide open and triple our production area,'' President Lee Orlic said in a telephone interview.
The company currently operates in a 25,000-square-foot facility in Concord, N.C., that it has expanded three times since 1993. The new facility is in Kannapolis, about a mile away. Orlic said the new facility will open in mid-2007.
When it does open, it will feature a 10-ton overhead crane as well as a central chilling system. Its production area will be air-conditioned to handle work that needs a clean environment.
The company also plans to add some 300-ton presses in the next three months. Double O now has 13 presses, with clamping forces of 25-730 tons.
Double O employs 48. Orlic's daughter, Marlo Orlic, is vice president of operations.
The firm is working with county and local officials and has filed for tax incentives. As a condition of the program, it plans to hire about 10 people in the next year.
``Business is great. We run ... 24 hours a day for six days,'' said Lee Orlic. ``Our growth is about 20 percent this year and we've had to put on hold some of the people that we can do business with.''
Orlic said construction, display and household goods provide much of his company's work. The firm has worked with a variety of materials, including ABS, polypropylene and nylon. It specializes in low- to medium-volume production runs. Double O also does secondary operations such as assembly and sonic welding.
The new facility is located on 4.3 acres, providing room to grow, Orlic said.
