Marine industry supplier Taco Metals Inc. recently purchased three Davis-Standard LLC extruders for its new 170,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center.
The extruders include two 3½-inch Marks and one 1½-inch HPE. They will be used to make rub-rail products for recreational boat builders and to expand the company's product line.
The Sparta, Tenn., facility enlarges a distribution network for Taco, enabling it to supply most of its U.S. customers within two days for delivery. The new building opened in February, according to Taco Metals spokeswoman Mary Ellen Thomas, and includes 120,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
``Davis-Standard has done customized work to meet specific design requirements, adding efficiency to our processing,'' said Joe Limansky, director of product development and engineering at Taco, in a news release.
The company uses Davis-Standard extruders at its Florida facilities. It is headquartered in Miami, with sales and distribution hubs in Longwood and St. Petersburg, Fla., as well as in Taunton, Mass.
The new extruders are engineered to run flexible PVC, rigid PVC and a variety of thermoplastic polymers.
Taco, which was founded in 1959, designs and produces more than 1,000 marine products, including rub rail, sports fishing equipment, leaning posts, T-tops, pipes and tubing, canvas tops, tower hardware, hinges, latches, seats and pedestals.
Thomas said Taco has 160 employees, and eight extruders total in Sparta and Miami.
