US-based precision injection molds manufacturer Industrial Molds will invest around $1.7m in purchasing new machinery to accommodate growth

The company is also carrying out renovation of its 43,000 ft2 facility which will see additional investment of $300,000. This expansion is being carried out to ensure a better layout for different departments, to create better work flow and to create space for new equipments.

Speaking about the investments, Industrial Molds production supervisor Andrew Peterson said to Plastics Today: "We basically looked at the areas in which we had bottlenecks and that's how we determined the machine purchases. We made these purchases to help us attack the bottlenecks in production."

Apart from these, the company is also installing a Micron HSM 400 ULP 5-axis electrode cutting machine that will help it double its electrode production. It currently has one electrode machine. The two machines will be connected with the help of a single robotic palletizer that is capable of holding 200 electrodes for lights out manufacturing.

An OKK HM1000S which is a 4-axis horizontal mill with a 40"x 40" dual table will also be installed in the company's mold base department.

Plastics Today further quoted Peterson as saying: "We do about 90% of our mold bases in house due to the longer lead times we sometimes encounter from mold base suppliers. Plus we can oversee the quality. The OKK will be a tremendous boost to our mold base department."

The company has also purchased two grinders to use for finishing work after heat treating.