TORRINGTON, CONN. (Dec. 5, 3:30 p.m. ET) — Technical Industries Inc. has expanded into blow molding and extrusion with the purchase of C-K Plastics Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.
Terms of the Dec. 1 deal were not disclosed.
Technical since 1994 has been a certified female-owned injection molding company, and has remained so after the acquisition.
“That gets us leads for OEMs who want to do business with diversity-owned businesses,” said Technical President and CEO Susan Parent in a telephone interview from C-K's office in St. Louis, Mo.
“The current competitive and economic forces demonstrated our need to expand our offering of products to our current and potential customers,” Parent said. “Additionally, by adding other lines of molding, this puts us in a stronger negotiating position with our suppliers to purchase material at a more competitive price.”
Technical of Torrington, Conn., said C-K Plastics will remain in operation in St. Louis as a division of Technical and will continue to support its existing customers. Eventually each operation will offer similar processing capabilities.
Technical employs 30 in a 26,000-square-foot facility. It custom molds parts in 31 injection presses ranging up to 240 tons. It has a climate-controlled plant, uses renewable energy and offers mold design and engineering services.
The acquisition announcement was made jointly with C-K Plastics President Dianne Chitwood. C-K Plastics can extrusion blow mold parts as big as 1.25 pounds. It can blow mold intricate parts in short runs. It extrudes tubing up to 4 inches in diameter with up to half-inch wall thickness as well as profiles. C-K Plastics has used the services of an outside injection molder to offer filled and unfilled resins in shot sizes up to 110 ounces on presses up to 610 tons. Parent said that third party molding arrangement will continue.
C-K Plastics employs 23 in a 43,000-square-foot facility. It runs seven extrusion lines and three blow molders. It was established in 1978.
Parent said C-K Plastics will retain its management with the exception of Chitwood, who will concentrate on her other business, Miller LLC, a distributor of architectural products in St. Louis. Chitwood felt C-K Plastics needed to expand but didn't have the resources to do so and she therefore sold it, according to Parent.
Technical is certified under the International Trade in Arms Restrictions whereby it has agreed not to send confidential information to foreign countries to protect Dept. of Defense work.
Technical and C-K Plastics both count their major markets in retail, construction, industrial, medical, wholesale and OEMs.