Sekisui Plastics USA (SPUS), a subsidiary of Japanese plastics producer Sekisui Plastics (Osaka; www.sekisuiplastics.com), has opened a new USD 5.2m (EUR 4.6m) foam moulding plant in Kenton, Ohio / USA. The 7,432 m² facility increases the company’s capacity by roughly 40% with room for future growth. Initial monthly capacity of 20-40 t is expected to rise to 100 t per month in the near future.

“This new manufacturing plant in Kenton gives us the moulding capacity we need for expanding our customer base in the north/central region of the country. And, it puts us in closer proximity to both our current and targeted OEM customers who require just-in-time delivery. In addition, it gives us the benefits of multiple location supply in case of emergency,” said Thomas Pontiff, president of SPUS. Initially, the plant will manufacture products moulded mainly from “Piocelan” hybrid foam resin for automotive parts, core parts for baby seats, and other industrial markets such as protective packaging.

The facility also has computer-aided design (CAD) capability. Together with its computer-aided engineering (CAE) abilities in Michigan, SPUS will have all the resources required to carry out product and part design, testing and verification from initial concept to production. “We expect to add material property testing capabilities in the near future,” said Pontiff.

Future plans at Kenton include producing the raw material used to mould various products and other manufacturing services to support new markets. Pontiff said: “Depending upon future requirements and business development efforts, this location could house Piocelan foamable resin production and extrusion capabilities for various foamed and unfoamed products.”