Auburn, N.Y.-based Currier Plastics Inc., a manufacturer of injection and blow molded products, is investing $15 million to renovate a 71,000-square-foot facility near its headquarters.
The project will add manufacturing and clean room space for medical products, plus create 50 jobs.
Founded in 1982, Currier designs and produces parts for laboratory diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and point-of-care tests in addition to products for the personal care, food and beverage, telecommunications, packaging and hospitality markets.
At the new facility, which is a half-mile from the 128,000-square-foot headquarters site, 25,000 square feet will be dedicated to ISO Class 8 clean room manufacturing, which is the certification for medical devices, and 45,000 square feet for manufacturing other medical products.
Currier bought the facility, which is located in the town of Aurelius, from BCS Access Systems, according to a report from The Citizen newspaper in Auburn. It was formerly a TRW Automotive factory.
Currier produces medical consumables, which include a vast array of often single-use products for hospitals and laboratories. The company makes parts for products to test blood, saliva and urine as well as vials, tubes and reagent-ready packages, which have special caps, stoppers and container tints to protect stored chemicals from light and radiation that could alter their liquid and powder forms.
"Currier has become a leading provider for complex, precise consumables in several health care markets. This expansion will give us the place to grow more incredibly strong valuable partnerships," Ron Ringleben, vice president of business development, said in a news release.
At-home medical testing has been another big growth driver at Currier, according to Rob Knapp, sales and marketing manager.
"More testing is being done before people go to the doctor's office. We saw that big burst with COVID-19 and now we're seeing it for influenza testing and general testing like the diabetes markets in the early 2000s," Knapp said in a phone interview. "There is a growth pattern across the medical and health care space for at-home care."
The renovation of Currier's second production site started as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary. The company also recently launched a new logo and website, Knapp said.
The new facility is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. When production of medical products moves there, the existing facility will have more space to meet needs of other markets.
"While the focus of the new facility is driven by the demand in the health care space, this new facility will allow us to continue to support our key customers in other spaces like general packaging and amenities," Knapp said.
The $15 million renovation project replaces a 2019 plan to build a second manufacturing plant from the ground up. Knapp said the previous plan was scrapped during the pandemic when building costs skyrocketed.
"We shifted our focus to local manufacturing space we could purchase," he said.