Plastic Molding Manufacturing Co. (PMM), a Hudson, Mass.-based injection molder, acquired Phillips-Moldex Co., an injection molder in Putnam, Conn., as part of a growth strategy to expand in the United States and reshore plastics production from overseas.
Founded in 1958, Phillips-Moldex produces plastic components, such as gears and ball bearings, for the automotive, medical, office equipment and other markets in a highly automated plant with work cells and 35 employees.
The acquisition gives PMM 32 presses in a 46,000-square-foot facility with a 25-year lease option; a second site in Connecticut to share technology and manpower; new automotive customers; and more medical customers for its clean room in Hudson, PMM CEO George Danis told Plastics News.
Founded in 1968, PMM has a facility 45 minutes away in Berlin, Conn., as well as plants in Lancaster, Pa., and South Bend, Ind., in addition to Hudson. The four sites have more than 100 presses and employ about 200 people.
Danis said in a phone interview that all Putnam personnel will be retained and the operation, which he said generates sales of $6.5 million to $7 million annually, will become PMM's fifth manufacturing site.
With estimated annual sales of $30 million, PMM ranks No. 200 among North American injection molders, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.
PMM serves a variety of markets, particularly industrial, electronics, water purification and some defense and medical, Danis said.
The acquisition benefits Phillips-Moldex several ways, according to the CEO.
"We have more resources and can help them expand and grow their business," Danis said. "We have more purchasing power, more technology to assist their customers and an up-to-date communication system, including tool samples for customers to view at their desk computer across the country or across the ocean."
PMM also gives Phillips-Moldex a contingency plan if problems arise at the Putnam site. The tools can be moved to Hudson or Berlin, Conn.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With the deal, PMM is on the verge of a growth spurt that will bring the company greater economies of scale, according to Danis. He said his team is in negotiations to acquire three other businesses in the Midwest, upstate New York and North Carolina.
Danis said he expects the other three deals to be completed in 2020.
"The main objective is to service customers locally and be more effective in speed, quality and cost," Danis said. "As we expand further, we will be able to reduce costs and bring back business that was outsourced from the U.S. Reshoring is our main goal."
Reshoring reduces travel and transportation costs for customers as well as risks of technology theft and geo-political problems, according to Danis. However, there's another reason PMM is focused on it.
"The most important part is really to support our experienced technical experts and enhance the plastic injection molding industry — and all U.S. manufacturing — so we can service our people with good wages, health care and benefits of all types," Danis said.
MBS Advisors of Florence, Mass., represented Phillips-Moldex in the transaction.