With the addition of two new presses, custom injection molder PlastiCert Inc. is wrapping up its four-year, $1.5 million plan to replace all of its major equipment.
PlastiCert's new Cincinnati Milacron 200- and 315-ton injection molding machines were delivered and installed in late December. The company has removed older machines and rearranged its production floor to improve efficiency.
The Lewiston, Minn.-based company in March replaced another older press with a Multiplas vertical clamp horizontal injection molding machine for insert molding. The company now has a total of 10 presses, owner and President Craig W. Porter said recently by phone. In the past four years, PlastiCert has also replaced all the major equipment in its toolroom, he added.
When the replacement program began, the average age of PlastiCert's equipment was 24 years; now it's four years, he said.
The privately held company employs 25 and performs small and midsize runs of custom parts for original equipment manufacturers in the telecommunications, avionics, computer, industrial and medical markets, among others. It also provides mold development and building services, insert molding and overmolding, and secondary operations including decorating and electro-mechanical assembly.