Somerset, Wis.-based medical device maker SMC Ltd. is expanding its reach eastward to Massachusetts and southward into Mexico with the purchase of Cycles Inc., a Sterling, Mass.-based custom injection molder.
SMC, formerly known as Scientific Molding Corp. Ltd., announced the purchase in an April 2 news release. Cycles is now SMC Cycles.
Cycles, founded in 1984, operates two facilities with a combined 114,000 square feet of space in Sterling. It also has a 75,000-square-foot plant in Tijuana, Mexico.
SMC said the Cycles facilities include three Class 100,000 clean rooms, toolmaking and 45 injection molding presses, with clamping forces from 5-200 tons.
Larry Martin, former owner of Cycles, said in the news release that SMC's ``global reach, scale, manufacturing capabilities and customer relationships'' make it an ideal partner for Cycles. He will remain with the company as a consultant, and SMC is retaining Cycle's managers and staff.
``We intend to maintain our base at all facilities and we certainly expect to grow along with our customers,'' said Barbara Tischart, SMC director of business development, in a telephone interview.
She said the acquisition gives SMC an opportunity to serve existing customers in the East and to expand in all areas.
Further details about the acquisition were not provided.
SMC does contract manufacturing and molding for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. On its Web site, the company lists two manufacturing facilities in Somerset, as well as one in Amery, Wis., and a design and product development center in Hudson, Ohio.
The acquisition marks the second in six months for SMC, which in a Jan. 25 release said it acquired Laxmi Electronics of Bangalore, India. That company now is known as SMC Laxmi Electronics.
Laxmi Electronics started in 1983 as a mold maker and grew to three facilities with over 100,000 square feet of space. It is ISO-certified and provides injection molded components to customers in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
SMC plants are ISO 13485 certified. The firm does product design, packaging and labeling, and device assembly. Molding capabilities include two-shot and liquid silicone injection molding. SMC's president is Chetan Patel.
``Our customers are largely top 20 medical companies. We are primarily a medical device contract manufacturer with a core competency in molding,'' Tischart said.
Tischart said SMC looked at the Asia market for expansion and that led to the purchase in India, partly because of the country's ability to protect intellectual property.
