Inteplast Group is expanding its production capacity for stretch film in Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix.
The company said May 1 that it will invest $15 million for two new cast film lines that are due to come on line by the end of the year.
“Our pre-stretch film product launched in 2014 has proved to be a great success,” stated Homer Hsieh, president of Inteplast's AmTopp Division.
Pre-stretched films are made by passing film between two rollers running at different speeds, to give the film higher load-holding force, better pallet coverage and thinner gauge.
Inteplast is adding 60 million pounds per year of stretch film capacity, bringing its overall capability to 320 million pounds at four plant locations. Charlotte will get the first new line by the fourth quarter and Phoenix's system will be installed a few months later. The investments will bolster the company's Apex and LoadStar film product lines.
Inteplast spokeswoman Brenda Wilson noted in an email correspondence that cast film technology allows better control of properties such as gauge of thin, high-performance films. The company, based in Livingston, N.J., will produce five-layer films on the new lines using polyethylene with other polymers to tailor properties.
Inteplast bought the Phoenix facility in May 2014 and has begun producing pre-stretch film there. It paid $5.8 million for the 106,000-square-foot building, according to Real Estate Daily News. Company officials declined to provide more information on the expansion projects.
The expansion announcement follows Inteplast's confirmation in March that it bought specialty film extruder Haremar Plastics Manufacturing Ltd. of Vaughan, Ontario, and a related bag-making company.