GaMra Composites Inc., a Hudson, Wis.-based custom profile extrusion company, purchased three new Super Blue extruders from Davis-Standard LLC.
GaMra President Greg Mitsch said his company purchased the extruders because of increased production demands and customer orders. GaMra's primary markets are industrial hose manufacturing and window blinds.
The first Super Blue was acquired in February 2009, a second in December and the third in March of this year, Mitsch said in a July 22 telephone interview. Including the new units, five of GaMra's six primary extruders are 31/2-inch Super Blues.
“The Super Blue is engineered for custom profile and tubing applications as well as basic wire and cable and film applications,” Davis-Standard said in a June 30 news release.
GaMra's 2009 sales were $3.8 million, Mitsch said, adding that he expects this year's sales to be around $6 million. The company's specialty extrusion business has more than doubled sales every year since 2007, he said.
He said the combination of cost and delivery time was important in GaMra's choice of equipment. It took about 21/2 weeks to get the machine up and running, a turnaround that's “usually unheard of,” according to Mitsch.
He added that GaMra might be purchasing another Davis-Standard Super Blue this fall, due to demand for production, which took off earlier this year. The company prefers to buy new rather than used machines to avoid problems and allow workers to “switch profiles from line to line without being locked in,” he said. GaMra usually can deliver product in roughly two weeks — from the customer's initial order to final shipment.
GaMra opened 10 years ago in Baldwin, Wis., moving production to nearby Hudson five years ago. In February, it finished a Hudson plant expansion, boosting space from 28,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet. The firm employs 16.
GaMra primarily serves the domestic market, but is beginning to branch out internationally, having shipped so far to China, India, Brazil and Mexico. Much of its business comes through referrals from other extruders that do not work with the types of materials GaMra is willing to extrude, including nylon, ABS and glass-filled materials, Mitsch said.
“We're not afraid to tackle different materials. That's where we split with other extruders,” he said.