Mexican roll and sheet extruder Laminex says it will open its first manufacturing plant in the United States in early 2019.
"We will be operating in the first quarter," Rebeca Avelar, the company's operations director, told Plastics News in an Oct. 11 telephone interview.
She added that "we're looking for more growth in the United States" but declined to say where the 50,000-square-foot facility will be located.
The U.S. market accounts for roughly 10-15 percent of Laminex's business, which is dominated by work for point of purchase clients in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, according to Avelar.
The company also supplies the automotive, food, pharmaceutical, refrigeration and construction industries, among others, Avelar said.
It has two manufacturing plants in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the business launched in 1992.
Owned by "at least five" investors today, it is one of the top two roll and sheet extruders in the Americas and employs 200, Avelar said. It also distributes its products in Europe, Africa and Australia.
Laminex is the abbreviated form of Laminados Extruidos Plásticos S.A. de C.V. It extrudes materials including polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS, PETG and ABS from virgin resins, using American and European technology, according to Avelar.
