Injection molder Bemis Manufacturing Co. plans to increase the size of its plant in northern Mexico and to add three new presses with clamping forces ranging from 1,000-1,500 tons.
The Sheboygan Falls, Wis., company is about to break ground on a 50,000-square-foot addition to its facility in Monterrey, it said in an April 21 news release.
The three new presses will include at least one multi-barrel machine and the building will be able to support machines with a clamping force as high as 4,400 tons, Bemis added. The company installed a 2,600-ton press in Monterrey in 2015.
CEO Jim Feiertag said the company wants to be there to serve customers who have moved or expanded to Mexico, where Bemis has manufactured proprietary plumbing and medical products since 1999.
The Monterrey facility, which employs 160 in three shifts, six days a week, is nearing capacity. In addition, the company wants to grow in segments where it already operates and to enter new markets, Doug Odell, vice president of sales and marketing for Bemis's contract molding services group, said.
“We're excited that the Mexico expansion will allow us to offer even more in the recreational vehicle, office furniture, construction and agriculture and heavy-duty truck markets, and we're excited for new markets,” Odell said.
The company plans to add workers once the expansion is complete, but Feiertag said the new investment in Mexico does not mean that Bemis will “shift” attention away from its contract facilities in Lenoir, N.C., and Sheboygan Falls. Both are experiencing strong growth, Feiertag said.