GREENVILLE, S.C. — Two South Carolina thermoformers have merged and are moving operations to Greenville.
The combined operation will be based in the former PFC-Systems Inc. plant, which had specialized in heavy-gauge thermoforming for a range of industries. PFC merged with Blue Ridge Packaging, which focused on thin gauge thermoforming in Simpsonville.
The merged company has been named Blue Ridge Thermoforming LLC.
"This broadens offerings to our customers," explained Blue Ridge Thermoforming President Gary Sleight in a telephone interview. "We can now offer from five-thousandths of an inch to half inch in thickness."
Sleight said the new company is doubling heavy-gauge and thin-gauge thermoforming capacities but he declined to provide further detail.
The Simpsonville business brings 18 employees to the merged entity while PFC will add six. The consolidation will eventually result in the addition of another half dozen employees.
The expansion is being spurred by growth, according to Sleight.
"We ran out of space here and so did PFC," Sleight said from Simpsonville.
The companies expect to complete the consolidation in Greenville by the end of June. The merger became legal Dec. 20, 2012.
Blue Ridge Thermoforming has ordered new equipment to meet its growth.
Jere Davis, former CEO of PFC, is serving as the new company's CEO.
Greer State Bank helped arrange financing for equipment purchases and to expand the Greenville facility.
Blue Ridge Packaging has been serving medical, automotive, electronic, packaging and specialty markets, primarily with thin-gauge materials but also encompassing thick gauge products. PFC has mainly done plastic components such as totes, trays, covers and assembly trays.
