Micro Mold and Plastikos, sister companies based in Erie, are investing heavily in the future with capital investments calculated to engender growth.
“It's part of our culture and strategic vision of our companies to continually reinvest and to move the business forward,” says Philip Katen, president and general manager.
In recent months, the two companies added a clean room aimed at the fast-growing medical devices sector, expanded their research and development facilities and purchased three new injection-molding presses, for a total investment of about $1 million, according to Katen, matching capital investments made in each of the last few years.
Together the two, family-owned businesses — mold maker Micro Mold, established in 1978, and custom-injection molder Plastikos, founded in 1989 — serve the medical, electronics, aerospace and defense, automotive, telecommunications and micro-components sectors with precision plastic products ranging from IV drip bags to electrical components.
The new clean room, which exceeds the standards of many companies, has already resulted in more medical-device business, with several new products scheduled to be in production in the near future, Katen says.
The new R&D facility is aimed at product development with engineers working with customers to insure manufacturability as well as quality and efficacy of the finished product. “We prefer to get involved early,” says Katen.
The companies also pay close attention to their environmental impact. Plastikos recently fulfilled the exhaustive requirements for an environmental management system certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), saving electricity and significantly cutting its carbon footprint.
Source: Philip Katen, Micro Mold and Plastikos
Writer: Elise Vider
