Intec Group Inc. of Palatine, Ill., has expanded its Guaymas, Mexico, injection molding plant.
``Over 90 days, we added 20 presses,'' said Scott Perlman, Intec chief executive officer. The presses came from a plant in Morocco, Ind., that the company closed in 2007.
The company has expanded aggressively in Mexico since forming a shelter service relationship with Offshore Group of Tucson, Ariz., in 2003.
Intec started its Guaymas operation with 20 workers in a 34,000-square-foot plant that used nine presses to insert mold automotive components.
Today, the Intec site in Offshore Group's Roca Fuerte industrial park employs 525, occupies 75,000 square feet and operates 61 presses.
Intec focuses on specialized insert molding of components for door latches, fuel-pump systems, sensors and wiper and window motors and on bringing product knowledge to customers, Perlman said.
Intec provides value-added content with its switching, potting and electronic assembly technology skills.
Cutbacks in automotive production schedules have imposed significant pressures on Intec operations in Mexico and China, Perlman said.
Intec customers include primarily Tier 1 operations of automotive suppliers Delphi Corp., Magna International Inc., Sensata Technologies BV, Keikert AG, Continental Teves AG & Co. oHG, Siemens AG, Bosch Rexroth AG, Valeo SA and ArvinMeritor Inc.
Established in 1953, Intec had 2007 sales of about $62 million, with almost one half from Asian operations in Singapore and Tianjin and Shanghai, China. The company projects a 10-15 percent sales increase for 2008.
Perlman anticipates Intec's third China manufacturing site in Changzhou will begin operations in February.
For the expansion in Mexico, an on-site project coordinator for Offshore's third-party-logistics unit helped manage shipment of equipment to Guaymas from Intec's now-closed Indiana facility in Moroco.
