Injection molder Accu-Mold LLC plans to double production capacity with a 30,000-square-foot expansion of its Ankeny, Iowa, plant, tentatively set for early 2009.
``We need to scale up to meet our growing customer needs,'' said President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Hargens in a Jan. 30 telephone interview.
Customers' needs include micro, miniature and insert molded parts for medical, microelectronic, military, automotive and fiber-optics markets. The firm's largest parts are 3 inches in diameter.
More than 70 percent of its production goes to customers in Mexico, Europe and Asia.
Hargens had discussed a similar expansion plan in November 2005, but it never materialized.
``We will decide on the actual timing in the second half of the year as we get closer to 2009,'' he said of the current plan. ``Over the next three years, we are looking to double our workforce from the current 111.''
Hargens said the plant expansion will cost between $3 million and $4 million, with another $1.5 million or more for equipment.
Accu-Mold operates 72 injection presses, from 12-35 tons, at its 38,000-square-foot plant in Ankeny, near Des Moines.
The company builds its own tools. Its current plant, built in 2001, has two Class 100,000 clean rooms for electronics and medical applications.
Hargens declined to disclose sales but said Accu-Mold has grown steadily for the past several years.