Sterling Systems Inc., a maker of resin-conveying systems, air-separation systems for recycling and extrusion downstream equipment, has expanded its factory by 50 percent in Forest, Va., to handle an industrial shredder business it bought earlier this year.
The company also is adding 40 employees.
Sterling Systems bought Hempstead Shredder Systems in June. Sterling moved the operation from Troy, Mich., to its Virginia headquarters plant.
``The shredders and our equipment will be a real good fit,'' said Randy Phelps, product manager for the new shredder line.
Sterling Systems built its 60,000-square-foot factory in 1999. The company has added 40,000 square feet of space and gained a 5,000-watt laser, two computer numerically controlled punches, two press brakes and a powder coating system. Construction was completed in September.
The company is a division of the 107-year-old Sterling Blower Co., owned by David Snowman. He bought Sterling Blower in 1981 and moved the business from Connecticut to Virginia in 1988.
Plastics remains the main market for Sterling Systems, but Phelps said adding the heavy-duty shredders opens up more markets, including recycling wood waste.
The dual-shaft shredders have cutting chambers ranging from 27 inches by 36 inches up to 65 inches by 95 inches, and up to 200 horsepower.
Phelps declined to say how much Sterling Systems invested in the new building, or how much it paid for Hempstead Shredder.
Snowman said buying the shredder line means the company can make a full line of equipment from bulk material reduction to the final end material.