Backed by a surge in sales in the past year, custom thermoformer Premier Plastics Inc. recently added a new computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining center to its equipment lineup.
The Takumi H12 tooling center was brought online to support the company's $1 million purchase last year of a Sencorp 2500 Ultra thermoforming station. The tooling center takes advantage of the Sencorp station's maximum mold capacity, providing a larger tooling footprint and shorter machining times, Premier Plastics said in a news release. The result is improved time-to-market.
The Salt Lake City company has remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic. When personal protective equipment was in desperately short supply last spring, it expanded its production to include disposable face shields made of recycled PET. Premier Plastics' usual custom offerings includes clamshell and blister packaging, shipping trays, medical and dental trays, and point-of-sale displays.
The company ranked No. 79 in Plastics News' most recent annual survey of thermoformers, published Feb. 22, with sales of $16.2 million, an increase of more than 60 percent vs. the previous year's $10.2 million. Last year it added a third shift, expanding its staff to 49. Since then its crew has grown to 65, in part to accommodate rising demand for aromatherapy and essential oils packaging. In July, President Jim Holbrook attributed some of the increase to people seeking ways to improve the atmosphere in their homes — especially their home offices — during the pandemic.
Premier Plastics also makes packaging for the nutraceutical, beauty, retail and consumer electronics markets.