Plastic Services and Products LLC said it is on track to becoming the largest producer of ABS pipe in North America with plans to invest $8 million to install 12 new extrusion lines at its two plants.
The Salt Lake City-based company manufactures plumbing, irrigation, fence, railing and custom extruded products at facilities in Salt Lake City and Centralia, Wash.
Construction is underway to expand the Utah plant to house 10 of the lines. The other two will be installed in Centralia.
PSP President Andrew Reese said the company went through “extensive” research in its decision to add six ABS lines and another six PVC lines.
“We have taken a long-term approach to our decision-making,” Reese added in a news release. “We disassembled machines, dissected tooling and evaluated a broad range of plastic processing systems. Whether it was from the U.S., Europe or Asia, we explored nearly every technology on the market.”
The company now has 75 employees and expects to hire another 15.
The expansion was undertaken to meet increased demand from the housing market, Reese said. The added capacity positions PSP to make more ABS pipe than any other business in North America with a total of 16 ABS lines.
PSP also extrudes PVC for products such as pressure pipe and fence profiles and is adding drain, waste and vent pipes. The company opened its vinyl fence division in 2012 with equipment purchased from Peak Profile Co., a Utah manufacturer that closed shop.
In addition, PSP is upgrading existing equipment with the latest operator controls, high-efficiency motors and drives, and screws and barrels with innovative processing technology.
"These advancements will allow us to maximize capacity, elevate quality and enhance efficiency," PSP Vice President John Johansen said in the release.
The company expects to cut its yearly power consumption by about 20 percent when the energy-saving upgrades are completed.
PSP also plans to start offering a 48-hour shipment guarantee for pipe orders trucked to customers on the Western U.S. and Canada.
"Consolidation has left customers with fewer suppliers to choose from, particularly in the ABS pipe market," Reese said. "Our goal is to increase the availability of existing product lines, expand our product offering and expedite order delivery."
PSP LCC is owned by a private investment trust that purchased it in 2008 from PMC Global, which had operated it as a division called PSP Inc.