Specialty injection molder MTD Micro Molding has completed construction on an expansion that will double the company's clean room manufacturing space.
The Charlton, Mass.-based company first announced plans to expand its headquarters plant in 2017. The 11,700-square-foot expansion creates a new facility that totals 27,450 square feet and also includes a new tooling department, more material storage, a new conference space, additional offices and a fitness center.
Vice President Gary Hulecki said the expansion allows MTD to better handle customers' evolving needs for custom packaging and assembly services.
"The days of bulk packing tiny medical parts are becoming a thing of the past. Custom packaging solutions are becoming a requirement for medical OEMs," Hulecki said in a news release.
The company dates back to 1972 when it was founded as Miniature Tool & Die Inc.
In 1988, when he was 28 and working as an engineering manager at another company, Dennis Tully, now a member of the Plastics Hall of Fame, joined the family business. He bought the company in 2008 and rebranded it MTD Micro Molding, repositioning it for the medical device market. Today the firm specializes in micro-injection molding for bioabsorbable and drug-delivery applications.
Tully started planning the expansion before MTD was named 2018 Plastics News Processor of the Year. Then, in February 2019, Tully died of a heart attack at age 58. The company went ahead with the expansion and completed it on schedule, despite setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We were nearing our capacity in our existing manufacturing space and needed room to grow," Hulecki said.
Hulecki said the company is continuing to grow. "Our fear is that we will grow out of this expansion, at the rate of growth we're seeing," he said.
MTD ranked No. 370 in the most recent Plastics News survey of North American injection molders, with estimated annual sales of $9 million.