Central Plastics & Manufacturing LLC is investing $10 million in a new 60,450-square-foot facility to add clean room space and capacity for increased medical and aerospace demand.
The facility in Tracy, Calif., is expected to be move-in ready by May 2021 and in full operation by the next month, President Hiren Patel told Plastics News.
Central Plastics is the operating name for Mother Lode Plastics Molding Inc.
The thermoformer and injection molder expects to add 20-30 new jobs by end of 2021 as a part of the expansion, Patel said.
The investment includes five new Milacron injection presses ranging from 200-600 tons of clamping force, expected to be delivered in April. The new plant will have more than 600 square feet of hard wall Class 8 clean room with space for assembly and packaging.
"We're still fairly new in the Northern California market," Patel said. "As we spend a lot of time on sales and marketing efforts and people get to know us, we are getting a lot more quoting opportunities.
"A lot of our key customers have grown significantly in recent years," he said. "We have a few customers in the pipeline that are going to help us grow almost 20 percent from where we are currently."
Central Plastics is also looking to diversify its processes, Patel said.
The investment also includes injection stretch blow molding equipment to begin production of PET products, he said.
The company will develop "three different bottle products that will be stock products," Patel added.
It will also upgrade much of its auxiliary equipment as it moves into the new facility, he said.
"As a part of the new expansion, we're investing in a solar system," Patel said. "Central Plastics is a certified green business and, as a part of that social responsibility, we also encourage our customers to use reprocessed and recycled resins when our application allows."