Plastics processor and toolmaker MGS Manufacturing (Germantown, Wisconsin / USA; www.mgstech.com) has opened a manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare / Ireland. It is the company’s fifth production moulding plant and its first outside North America. The 4,000 m² factory is located on the HP Technology Campus and will house a projected 24 electric injection moulding machines ranging from 100 t clamp up to 350 t. Production started in June and there are currently 20 employees. Plans include the construction of an ISO Class 8 clean room for both moulding and assembly operations.

Production at the MGS Ireland plant will focus on components for the computer and electronics markets, as well as healthcare and consumer products. It will provide multi-shot moulding services through use of the company’s own Universal Multishot Systems equipment range. Manufacturing will be supported by an on-site tool shop for preventative maintenance on moulds, repairs and engineering changes. This service will also be offered to local OEMs for moulds they run in-house.

MGS Manufacturing Group started as a mould maker in 1982; it now produces over 400 moulds annually. It has a total of eight facilities for mould making and plastics processing at locations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Mexico, with over 600 employees. The plastics operations comprise more than 140 injection moulding machines, rated from 28 t to 880 t, plus some blow moulding production. The main markets are consumer (26%), medical (18%), electronics (14%) and automotive (9%).