NewAge Industries Inc. has started renovations on three buildings that it purchased to expand tubing production 7 miles from its Southampton, Pa., headquarters.
NewAge recently purchased the third building, which completed its ownership of the property and gives the tubing manufacturer 90,000 square feet of new production, warehouse and office space, an Oct. 13 news release said.
"This acquisition completes one plan and puts another in motion," CEO Ken Baker said in the release. "Our search for the right property landed us this convenient location, just 15 minutes from our headquarters. Now that we own the entire building, the next steps begin.
"It's important that we're preparing for this now, because COVID-19 and all of its repercussions won't be going away any time soon," Baker added. "We understand security of supply and the critical nature of the products we're providing to our customers."
The building, which was purchased in cash, "will allow NewAge to increase manufacturing capacity for its AdvantaPure high purity line of products," the release said, including NewAge's AdvantaSil silicone tubing and braid reinforced hose, weldable and sealable AdvantaFlex thermoplastic elastomer tubing and single-use molded tubing assemblies.
"The facility will house additional tubing extrusion equipment and mold presses in a design planned to maximize workflows," it added.
Baker had called the move a fail-safe in a May 26 news release.
"Some of our customers have expressed concern about security of supply," he said at the time. "Being able to make our products at multiple locations not only lets us increase our output but helps ease those concerns."
In addition to renovations, NewAge is preparing areas of the building for clean room manufacturing and offices for production and quality department personnel.
"The new property will increase our manufacturing capacity a great deal," Baker said. "We expect to eventually produce two to three times the amount of platinum-cured silicone and TPE tubing we're currently making at our headquarters."
Demand for tubing, reinforced hose and molded assemblies increased considerably, the release said, due to those products being used in COVID-19 detection test kits, laboratory work on antibodies, ventilators and vaccine development.
Renovations on the new site will continue into 2021, the release said, when NewAge expects to test the clean room environments and manufacturing equipment for ISO certification.
"Extrusion equipment and injection molding presses, many of which are already purchased and on site, will be set up in stages as areas of the building are prepared," it said.
NewAge did not immediately respond to inquiry for comment by Plastics News, including how many new jobs the expansion would create.