ADS plans to open pipe plant in S.D.
HILLIARD, OHIO — Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. has announced plans to open another corrugated plastic pipe plant in the Midwest, in Watertown, S.D.
The Hilliard firm said the new plant will begin operating by late summer 2012. Spokeswoman Tori Durliat said in a telephone interview that the 40,000-square-foot, leased facility will mainly extrude corrugated pipe but also will offer a range of other products to local markets.
“We're seeing enormous demand in the upper Midwest for our entire product line, including single-wall agricultural pipe, dual-wall storm drain pipe, sanitary pipe, storm changers, sanitary chambers and many other products,” said ADS Chairman and CEO Joe Chlapaty in a May 7 news release.
Durliat said the Hilliard company won't reveal the cost of the project or equipment details.
Watertown will be ADS' third production plant for the area, joining relatively new operations in Hampton, Iowa, and Buxton, N.D.
ADS in March acquired plastic pipe manufacturing assets of Quality Culvert Inc. of Astatula, Fla. Early this year it said would open a new high density polyethylene pipe production plant in Clifford, Mich., as part of a $10 million expansion investment announced last summer.
“When this new plant [in Watertown] is opened we will be operating 55 manufacturing operations worldwide,” Chlapaty said in a news release.
ADS claims to be the largest producer of corrugated HDPE pipe in the world. Plastics News' pipe, profile and tubing survey estimates ADS runs 45 plants in North America, with estimated sales of $840 million in 2010.
ADS rival Prinsco Inc. of Wilmar, Minn., also recently announced expansion plans for the Midwest. It will set up a pipe production plant in Fargo, N.D., this year. Last year it built a pipe plant in Beresford, S.D. Pipe producers are investing in the region because farmers are placing more emphasis on water management.
Edge Plastics moving to larger Calif. site
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — Proprietary and custom injection molder Edge Plastics Inc. this month is moving less than half a mile to larger quarters in Riverside.
“We ran out of room and have been looking for a long time,” said Dave Grimes, owner and president.
In late February, Edge Plastics leased 69,000 square feet of industrial space for 10 years. O'Gorman Pacific Realty Inc. represented both parties.
The landlord agreed to redo the offices, rework the parking area and install an early suppression, fast-response sprinkler system. Edge will add cooling towers and “hopes to have a better plant layout,” Grimes said.
Currently, Edge Plastics occupies Riverside buildings with 24,000 and 14,000 square feet of space. Grimes owns the larger structure and might lease or sell that property.
Grimes founded Edge Plastics in 1988 and subsequently created two additional entities — ODI Grips and Promotion Systems Inc. — for marketing and fulfillment of proprietary lines accounting now for about 60 percent of total sales. Other general-purpose custom molding work involves items for dental, pool and spa, industrial and airline food-service applications.
ODI products, made mostly of thermoplastic rubber, include dual-ply, lock-on and single-ply grips for all-terrain vehicles, motocross-style bicycles and mountain bikes. ODI is an acronym for “observe, design, innovate.”
Promotion Systems supplies the point-of-purchase industry with countertop and floor stock display racks and merchandising strips and accessories.
Edge Plastics employs 70 including two mold makers with two helpers and operates 14 injection molding machines with clamping forces of 50-500 tons. New hydraulic presses, one each of 200 and 150 tons and both from Fortune Engineers, went into operation in late 2011.
Fabricator Dielectric adding equipment
MENOMONEE FALLS, WIS. — Plastics fabricator Dielectric Corp. has added a new 60-ton, 8-foot programmable press brake to meet growing demand for forming thermoplastics and light-gauge, non-ferrous metals.
The Menomonee Falls company also installed a new two-spindle, four-axis router equipped with two 5-foot-by-10-foot machining tables. It can operate the tables either in tandem, independently or simultaneously. The router can process plastics, wood composites and non-ferrous metals like aluminum.
“The state-of-the-art equipment enables us to trim production time on both simple and complex parts,” said Dielectric Chief Operating Officer Perry Pabich in a May 15 news release.
Last year Dielectric extended its prototyping capabilities by establishing a new division, JR Prototypes, near Menomonee Falls that uses fused deposition modeling.
Dielectric also runs a plant in Lake Mills, Iowa.
The firm fabricates thermoplastic and thermoset parts from rod, sheet, tube or film. Its processes include drilling, sawing, cold and heat forming, routing and decorating. It also works with metals, wood and wood products.
The company was founded in 1965 by Ray Esser.
