As it comes up to its 50th year in business, custom injection molder Plastic Molding Manufacturing Inc. is relocating its recently acquired South Bend, Ind., facility for improved efficiency and quality.
The company acquired the former Aucilla operation in January 2016, extending its geographic reach into the Midwest. PMM is headquartered in Hudson, Mass., and also runs plants in Berlin, Conn., and Lancaster, Pa.
PMM CEO George Danis said in a phone interview that the relocation will begin about Nov. 10 and take about three weeks. The site now has 27 injection presses with clamps from 50 to 220 tons.
"It is an old building and difficult to operate in," Danis said. The former Aucilla operation was one of several businesses in the older building. The chopped-up nature of the older building's layout is inefficient and the ceiling height can't accommodate a crane, Danis explained.
PMM is spending about $800,000 to renovate the newer facility in South Bend, which is only about 4 miles away, so the company can rely on the same workforce. Installation of a crane and upgrading the electrical system are the biggest expenditures for the project.
"The work floor will be more appropriate and will allow more machinery to be installed," Danis said. He did not disclose any expansion plans he might be pondering for the South Bend site.
Danis said the South Bend operation has a diverse custom molding clientele and a proprietary line of bearings, bushings and similar wear-intensive components. Automotive, industrial, electronics and medical are key markets for the firm which Danis founded in 1968.
The relocation and upgrade should not affect PMM's other facilities.