A Delaware company that makes plastic balls has purchased its primary tooling supplier, which it plans to relocate.
The partners of Craig Technologies Inc. and Flow Smart Inc., which share a plant in Seaford, Del., have completed the purchase of Linus Tooling Inc. of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. The firms are planning to move Linus to a site across from their Seaford, Del.-based operations.
“Linus has been our primary supplier for new injection mold tooling, mold repairs and custom ball grinding tooling,” said Craig President Donald Hollenbeck, in a news release. “And now, with the increased business from all of our affiliates, Linus has added twin-spindle, eight-axis machining capabilities to accommodate the manufacture of specialty sight glasses, flanges and ball valves.”
Linus President Jim Ryan confirmed that the company will be moving by mid-March to a new 13,500-square-foot facility that is triple the size of its current home. Ryan said he and three other employees will make the move with the company. Craig Technologies said the move will create about 10 new jobs in the next year.
“Since we've joined up, it's all taken off — with new projects, we're running things and developing new stuff,” Ryan said.
Craig partners Donald and Robert Hollenbeck and Leo O'Hara, along with Lou Bongiorno of Flow Smart, made the purchase. The company makes precision-ground plastic balls for various applications such as bearings and valves. The firm moved to Delaware from the Philadelphia area back in 2000. In 2007, it purchased Flow Smart and relocated the business from Wharton, N.J.
Flow Smart makes gaskets and other flow-control products for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and dairy industries.
Craig Technologies also owns Craig Ball Sales, a provider of balls made of metal, glass, ceramic and rubber, used in industrial, medical and pharmaceutical applications; and Global Diversified Sales LLC, a manufacturers' representative agency.
Hollenbeck said all of the Craig companies are ISO 9001:2000 approved and the plan is to implement the same quality-management systems into Linus Tooling.
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