Finnish materials firm Premix Oy will open its first U.S. production site in Apple Creek, N.C., in early 2025.
In a recent post on the firm's website, officials with Premix in Helsinki said that the site has moved into the equipment installation phase.
"The plant building and local organization are starting to take shape," they said. "We expect to be ready to manufacture the first compounds in the plant in Q1 2025."
The Apple Creek site initially will make electrically conductive and dissipative plastic compounds for electronics packaging. Compounds for diagnostics and health care uses should be in production by the third quarter of 2025 at the latest. The site also will provide local storage for compounds made in Finland.
Benefits of local supply will include resilient supply chains; high product quality and consistency; and better global supply capability with short lead times, officials said. The new plant "will double our production capacity and allow us a faster supply on the American continent," they added.
Premix first announced plans for the $47 million plant in May 2022. The firm received a $79.9 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for products made at the new plant, primarily compounds used in diagnostic testing. Officials said at the time that when fully operational, the plant will employ 30-35.
Family-owned Premix is a market leader in electrically conductive plastics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm ensured global PCR tests by securing availability of compounds used to make pipette tips.
The agreement with the DOD was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act to enable and support U.S. domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources. Premix also received a performance-based grant of $75,000 from the One North Carolina Fund for the new plant. That fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs.
Premix was founded in the early 1980s. The firm has production sites in Finland and at a joint venture in China.