QM Group is spending $9.5 million to expand its injection molding plant in Orangeburg, S.C.
The expansion is expected to create 37 new jobs, officials with Lakeshore, Ontario-based QM said in a Feb. 20 news release. The plant is part of the firm's plastics division, which offers design, tool building and manufacturing services for the power sports, industrial and automotive industries.
Since QM opened the plant in 2004, the Orangeburg site has created 100 new jobs and seen $16 million in investment.
“Our preference for this location has been established to the point where we have now designated it as our U.S. operations headquarters,” QM founder and owner Bill Szekesy said in the release. “We are excited to be part of the growing community of businesses who are now calling South Carolina home.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster added that the QM expansion “is a great win for one of our rural communities, and I look forward to watching The QM Group continue to thrive there.”
QM was founded in 1986 by Szekesy, who remains its sole owner. The firm specializes in mold building, injection molding, urethane molding, thermoforming and secondary assembly.
QM operates three plants in Ontario and single plants in Michigan, South Carolina and Indiana. The Indiana plant was added late last year when QM acquired TomKen Plastic Technologies Inc., an injection molder and mold maker in Muncie.
When the TomKen deal was announced, QM officials told Plastics News that the firm was interested in making more acquisitions, possibly in the Midwest or Southeastern United States. The TomKen acquisition increased QM's work force to 500 and lifted its annual sales to $75 million.