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By Jeremy Carroll
STAFF REPORTER
Published: August 13, 2013 4:55 pm ET
Known for its work with exotic materials, Chemtech Plastics Inc. has announced a $2.5 million investment in a new building and equipment.
The Elgin, Ill.-based injection molder said it has finalized the purchase of a 65,000-square-foot facility next to its existing manufacturing facility, 40 miles west of Chicago.
The new building will be used to store raw materials and finished product, clearing space in the manufacturing space for new equipment, company President Derek Popp said.
“When we built the building, and purchased the tower and chiller, my dream and our goal was to get it to 60 machines,” Popp said about the manufacturing space. “The exciting part is seeing that come to fruition now.”
The company has 40 presses right now, and wants to hit that mark of 60 in five years, Popp said.
“Our core competency is in difficult molding,” he said. “Not everyone is good at that.”
In addition to the manufacturing space, Chemtech Plastics also took delivery of a three-shot Arburg molding machine for the production of a rain sensor component for automatic windshield wipers. The company also added a second fully automated manufacturing cell for pieces on a robotic medical device for robotic surgeries.
Chemtech Plastics specializes in both automotive parts and medical device parts and both are a growth market for the company, officials said.
“We’ve been doing automotive since we’ve been in business, but medical is relatively new,” said Ted Schwartz, director of sales and marketing for Chemtech Plastics. “So from a percentage standpoint, medical is growing very quickly for us. Automotive is doing really well too, with the rebound of the industry and the way things are going with the industry.”
The company did $24 million in injection molding sales in 2012 and has 120 employees. Chemtech ranked 184th in Plastics News’ most recent ranking of North American injection molders. | |
