Poly-Tainer Inc. will open a third blow molding plant to be closer to markets in the East.
The Simi Valley, Calif., firm said it chose Greenwood, Ind., 15 minutes south of Indianapolis, for its third site. Poly-Tainer is renovating a 45,000-square-foot industrial building there to bring it up to Poly-Tainer's specifications.
``Realizing that more than 40 percent of our customer base is located outside of California, it was inevitable that we needed to diversify out of state,'' explained Poly-Tainer President and founder Paul Strong. ``We were drawn to the Indianapolis area for its centralized location, dynamic workforce and manufacturing-friendly environment.''
Poly-Tainer Vice President Julie Williams said the Greenwood plant will start with extrusion blow molding and injection-stretch blow molding of PET for personal-care and industrial markets. It will buy new Nissei equipment and move some Bekum blow molding capacity from the two existing plants in Simi Valley.
Machinery relocated from California will be replaced and upgraded.
Greenwood's early operations will include silk-screen decorating capability and shrink-sleeve labeling, a new technology for Poly-Tainer. Shrink-sleeve labeling allows better graphics than silk screening and is becoming more popular in packaging, Williams said in a telephone interview.
``Our recent entry into the PET bottle market has really taken us from regional molder to national supplier status,'' Strong said in a news release.
Greenwood will blow mold PET, polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC, all of which are blow molded as well in Simi Valley.
Williams said Poly-Tainer will start with round-the-clock molding for five days a week, rising to seven days a week as the operation's demands increase. About 36 employees will staff the plant in its initial phase.
Poly-Tainer logged sales of $23.7 million last year. Its two plants in Simi Valley employ about 250 and run 45 blow molding machines and five automatic silk screening lines.