Warren, Mich. — Injection molder and toolmaker MMI Engineered Solutions Inc. is growing in North America with the purchase of a building in Warren and an expansion in Monterrey, Mexico.
The company is investing an estimated $10 million in the 82,000-square-foot Warren manufacturing facility, which will house operations for injection molding, engineering and tooling to serve customers primarily in the heavy truck and automotive industries.
The $10 million investment includes the purchase price of the building and capital equipment as well as various facility upgrades. MMI is working with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. on the project and plans to create 110 jobs.
"As we continue to grow — and we've been on quite the growth spurt — we needed more capacity," Doug Callahan, president, CEO and owner of MMI, said in a June 12 interview at the Warren site, which had been vacant since December 2018.
Callahan described the empty shell as a blank canvas and one of the most exciting parts of being a business owner.
"This is my artwork," he said. "I'm not an artist, but if I were, this is my canvas."
The facility is scheduled to be operational and in full production by Nov. 1. It will start off with three injection molding machines — a 1,500-ton, a 720-ton and a 500-ton — but Callahan said he'll be adding more presses, especially large-tonnage machines, as new programs come in through 2021.
The company is getting a lot of business from heavy truck manufacturers, he said.
MMI molds plastic interior parts, interior and exterior trim, and various powertrain components for customers such as Navistar International Corp., Paccar Inc. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, among others.
The Warren plant is the third manufacturing facility for MMI, which has headquarters and additional manufacturing operations in Saline, Mich., as well as a sales and engineering office in Troy, Mich.
"We're speeding up. We've got significant growth," he said. "We've booked enough business that'll launch between … the third and fourth quarter this year through 2021 that we'll probably get close to filling this plant up around the time everything is in production."