Plastics and rubber fabricator Redwood Plastics and Rubber is nearing completion of an expansion of its Langley, British Columbia, and Woodland, Wash., facilities.
Redwood has invested more than C$3 million (US$2.4 million) in the past four months to acquire more production machinery, said Angela Rodenburgh, Redwood vice president of marketing, in a phone interview.
The biggest single investment, a cast urethane machine, is due to begin commercial production by the end of the year, Rodenburgh said from her firm's head office in Langley. It accounted for about a third of the budget.
Rodenburgh said the new, custom-built urethane machine is highly automated and replaces an older machine. It is able to rapidly switch urethane hardnesses and colors, formerly a laborious, slow process.
An automated knife-based sheet cutter, CNC machines and lathers are other equipment being installed in Langley and Woodland. The sheet cutter is faster and more precise than die-cutting, she said.
Redwood supplies a range of durable goods for pulp and paper mills, sawmills, mining, construction and other industries. Bushings, plastic liners, cribbing, hose protection products, pulleys and diverse other components are made in the company's Langley and Woodland operations. Polyurethane, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, nylon and engineering resins are key plastics it works with. Rubber products including sheet, gaskets and rollers round out the range of materials Redwood processes.
Rodenburgh said her company is much more than a stock shapes distributor.
"We put value on just about everything we sell," she explained. "We specialize in custom-made parts."
Redwood Plastics and Rubber is the name of two merged businesses that shared common ownership. Redwood Plastics Corp. and Epic Polymer Systems Corp. merged effective Oct. 1, the companies recently announced. Several shareholders, including Rodenburgh, own shares in the merged business. Origins of the companies go back to 1971.
Redwood states the merger gives cost savings and allows staff to avoid duplication while improving customer service. The company employs about 150. It runs branches in Prince George, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; Spokane, Wash., and Atlanta.
