Meese Orbitron Dunne Co. has ordered another fully automated Leonardo rotational molding machine to serve the West, but the processor declines to disclose where it will operate. The rotational division of Persico SpA of Nembro, Italy, is the equipment manufacturer.
``It is to be installed at a location suitable for serving the western part of the U.S.,'' said Robert Dunne, president of Ashtabula, Ohio-based MOD, via email.
The Western plant may or may not be located at MOD's existing facility in La Mirada, Calif. The company plans to reveal the location at a later date.
In late 2001, MOD established a state-of-the-art 55,000-square-foot plant in La Mirada to replace operations in Montebello and Anaheim, Calif. The Anaheim site, since vacated, was part of MOD's acquisition of American Rotational Molding Group.
MOD began operating its first Persico-built Leonardo rotomolding machine at its Madison, Ind., plant in March.
``Our first installation has performed even better than anticipated,'' Dunne said in a statement. ``It has had a significant impact on stabilizing our cost structure.'' A Leonardo operates faster than traditional rotomolding machines, according to MOD.
Persico will ship the machine from its plant in Nembro in April, said Gaetano Donizetti, sales manager with Persico's rotational division. Donizetti declined to identify Persico's other Leonardo customer in the U.S. But, he said the customer ``has one machine in a Kentucky plant working since July 2008 and we are reassembling a second one now. It will run in early October.''
Using Leonardo's automated robotic capabilities, MOD intends to offer products with multiple layers containing varying properties of engineered resins and other materials not usually used in rotomolding. A Leonardo machine can inject additional resins and blowing agents during a molding cycle. Precise mold heating allows for control of each layer's wall thickness.
In addition, a Leonardo can make hollow parts with complex geometries, and the technology moves past prior limits restricting rotomolders to low-volume low-tolerance products.
MOD employs about 220, logged 2007 sales of $31.8 million and operates a plant in Saddle Brook, N.J., in addition to those in Ashtabula, Madison and La Mirada. MOD is a division of Meese Inc., part of family-owned Tingue, Brown & Co. of Saddle Brook.
Currently, Persico has orders for four Leonardo machines — three for the Italian market and one for MOD, Donizetti said.
Persico has delivered 32 Leonardo units, including 13 to customers in Italy, seven in France, six in the United Kingdom, three in the U.S., two in Australia and one in Spain.