Exton, Pa. — Boy Machines Inc. renovated its headquarters in Exton in 2018, moving back in last fall. Officials at the small-tonnage injection molding machinery company showed off the result at an open house and conference April 9-11.
President Marko Korneef said the company's 15 employees in Exton moved next door when renovation began. Boy Machines occupies 14,000 square feet in an Exton industrial building, which is owned by the machinery maker and measures a total of 42,000 square feet. Boy rents out the two other units.
The employees moved back in October 2018.
In the renovation, crews redid some offices, built more offices and added features to allow in more daylight. They also added a conference room.
"We upgraded our showroom where the machines are [on display at the open house]," Korneef said. The main conference room where presentations were held — one day covering silicone and elastomer molding, the second day discussing thermoplastic molding — got a new floor, ceiling and a fresh coat of paint. Boy normally uses that space for classroom training.
In addition to the 15 people working in Exton, Korneef said Boy Machines employs 10 more people in the field: six service technicians and four in sales.
Boy Machines is the U.S. operation of Dr. Boy GmbH, based in Fernthal, Germany. Dr. Boy was founded in 1968, and the company quickly started a sister company in the United States.
Boy Machines was founded in 1974, at first on Long Island, said Helga Shiffer, chairman of the board of the U.S. business.
Shiffer and Korneef discussed the renovation and history of Boy in an interview during the open house.
Shiffer said Boy located on Long Island because it partnered with another company there.
"And then after several years, we had the option to buy the whole company," she said. Boy moved to another Long Island location, then moved to Exton in the early 1980s, she said.
At the open house, Boy showed five injection presses molding parts. That included the U.S. launch of the largest-ever Boy, the Boy 125 E, with 137 tons of clamping force, molding two-shot coffee mugs made of polypropylene and overmolded with a soft thermoplastic elastomer. The bolt-on second injection unit, built by Dr. Boy, was set up in an L-configuration, mounted horizontally at the rear of the machine. The two-component version of the press has two controllers, one for each injection unit.
Boy rolled out the 125 E press at the 2018 Fakuma show.