Automotive mold maker Integrity Tool & Mold Inc. is building a 118,000-square-foot plant in Mexico, its second facility in the country.
The new plant, nearly three times the size of Integrity's existing facility in Querétaro, allows for increased mold building capacity and will house new injection molding machines for mold tryout.
The new construction is in the same industrial park as Integrity's original facility — “literally 30 seconds away,” said Wayne McLaughlin, plant manager of Integrity's Mexico operations.
As part of its expansion, Integrity will reorganize its operations to boost efficiency, McLaughlin said. Its original plant will be dedicated to machining, with assembly and validation handled in the new space. The new plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of May.
Machinery for the new plant includes: a 2,300-ton four-shot KraussMaffei, a 2,300-ton single-shot KraussMaffei, a 1,200-ton Haitian, a 500-ton KraussMaffei and a 320-ton KraussMaffei, each equipped with a six-axis robot. A 4,000-ton KrausMaffei will be added in early 2018.
Headquartered in Oldcastle, Ontario, Integrity serves both OEMs and Tier 1s from locations in Ontario, Tennessee and Mexico, counting major suppliers Flex-n-Gate, Magna International and Plastic Omnium among its customers. The company supplies tooling for a variety of parts, including lighting, interior hard trim and fascias.
“We know of the tens of billions of dollars that have been invested in Mexico over the last short number of years by the OEMs and the Tier 1s, and we're following suit to be able to satisfy their growing needs,” McLaughlin said. “The way we're going at it is, whatever we can build in Canada or the United States to supply our customers here, our intent is to offer the exact same capabilities and capacities here in Mexico.”
Integrity's Mexico operations have sales of $14 million. The company currently employs 95 in Mexico, and expects that to grow to 140 by the end of 2017.
Integrity ranks No. 2 in Plastics News' survey of North American mold makers, with sales of $112.8 million.
