Pacific Plastics Injection Molding (PPIM), a division of Diversified Plastics, Inc. (DPI), recently expanded its 24,000-square foot facility to 46,000 square feet. Together, the DPI facility in Minnesota and the PPIM facility in California now total 99,000 square feet. In addition to meeting rapidly increasing manufacturing demand, the larger space is part of a three-year growth initiative.
In 2019, PPIM expanded its manufacturing, assembly and office space by 5,000 square feet. The company also added plastic-injection molding presses and an automation system. Since those additions, orders from new and existing customers have grown rapidly. An example is a PPIM customer that provides filters used in the production of COVID-19 vaccines. This growth has caused a shortage of warehouse space for raw materials and inventory of bulky parts for weekly shipments.
“While production has doubled, we did not have enough warehouse space,” says Rob Gilman, PPIM general manager. “As a short-term solution, we added cargo containers in the shipping bay and parking lot.”
PPIM will also expand its plastic-injection molding press capacity 20 percent by the end of the year. In mid-August, the company is beginning a transition to all-electric injection molding presses, which deliver faster output with precision-product quality.
This growth also results in more jobs in many departments. In April, PPIM hired a new production manager, Ray Rivas. At the beginning of June, Pablo Soto was appointed quality manager. There are now 120 employee-owners in the DPI and PPIM locations.
As part of a three-year growth initiative, a cleanroom will be added and ISO 13485 certification will be obtained at PPIM. This will broaden the company’s medical-device manufacturing, assembling and packaging capabilities in a second location.
