Techmer PM has chosen New Castle, Del., as the site of its new compounding plant.
Construction of the new facility already is underway, with a January opening expected. Full operations are set to begin in the second quarter of 2016, officials with Clinton Tenn.-based Techmer said in an Oct. 26 news release.
The New Castle plant will replace a production site in Aston, Pa. — 20 miles north of New Castle — that Techmer acquired when it bought specialty compounder TP Composites Inc. in 2013.
Techmer President Ryan Howley said in a recent phone interview that production in Aston was spread out over several buildings and “wasn't sustainable.” The new location “will have manufacturing, inventory and offices all under one roof,” he added.
Staying in the general area will allow Techmer to retain most of the 60 employees from Aston. Within five years, Techmer expects to employ more than 100 in New Castle.
Products made by the former TP business include filled, impact-modified and colored compounds based on a wide variety of resins. These compounds are sold into military applications, business machines, transportation and other markets.
The new site will have 50 percent more production capacity than the Aston location. Techmer also will invest in closed-loop utilities and recycling initiatives to limit waste to landfill.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to create new, custom-modified engineering resins,” Chairman and CEO John Manuck said in the release. “The New Castle plant will be a world-class compounding facility designed to grow with us.”
Techmer ranks as one of North America's 30 largest makers of compounds and concentrates. The firm has seven manufacturing plants in North America and has annual sales of more than $200 million. In 2014, Techmer was named as one of Plastics News' Best Places to Work.