Contract manufacturer Tekmart Integrated Manufacturing Services (TIMS) has purchased a 190,000-square-foot injection molding facility in Tijuana, Mexico, with plans to invest there for growth in the medical industry.
The site was formerly operated by consumer electronics specialist Sanyo Manufacturing Corp.
TIMS plans to install a clean room at the site, which will supply the medical sector among others, according to Nigel Thomas, director of acquisition development for Tekmart International Inc., TIMS's Toronto-based parent.
“We are thinking of acquiring a ready-made clean room,” Thomas said in a March 31 telephone interview. “It would be a substantial investment. We have been looking at some operations that have clean rooms” — with a view to acquiring them.
TIMS, a Tier 1 automotive supplier with additional customers in consumer electronics and aerospace, emphasized its increased interest in medical injection molding activities in a March 30 news release.
“The company plans to expand the Tijuana factory beyond consumer electronics to include automotive and eventually health care with the addition of multiple Fanuc [Corp.] electric injection machines suited for the medical molding industry.”
Thomas said that two semi-new Fanucs have been “formally acquired” and an additional four are available for purchase.
TIMS has run a 650,000-square-foot factory in Ciudad Juárez, 750 miles east of Tijuana, since early 2013. The Juárez plant has 50 injection molding presses, mostly Milacrons, with clamping forces ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 tons. Included in the Tijuana plant acquisition are 15 presses.
Thomas declined to reveal how much TIMS paid for the Tijuana facility, saying only that it was a “seven-figure” sum.
In the news release, he said that “Mexico's manufacturing sector has witnessed a resurgence due to the strengthening economy in the U.S.A., and the repatriation of manufacturing from China.
“TIMS is ideally positioned to provide contract manufacturing support for the near-shoring demands of OEMs in the automotive, aerospace, appliance and medical markets. We believe that our large tonnage capabilities make us unique in the industry.”
TIMS President Bipin Napal added: “Combined with the extensive capital equipment investments we continue to make in the operation, we believe we have a compelling manufacturing option for our clients.”
TIMS customers include AB Electrolux, Magneti Marelli SpA, Johnson Controls Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc.