Gloucester Engineering expands die rebuilding operation

Gloucester Engineering Co., Inc. (GEC), now in its 52nd year, announces the expansion of its blown film machinery die rebuilding offerings. With increased demands for the this specialized service along with calls for shorter lead times and increased performance for dies, GEC offers rebuilds and upgrades on both their own dies as well as dies originally manufactured by other companies.

“We are experiencing a virtual near capacity situation in our die rebuilding program,” notes VP Laurent Cros, who heads up operations for GEC aftermarket products and service operations. 

“In response to this and to accommodate a record of new die rebuild orders coming in, we have taken a fresh look at these operations. As an OEM with 5+ decades of experience in this field, we most likely have the original drawings and specifications to rebuild our own equipment in the field, but competitor units as well. We stand apart from smaller shops in many ways, plus make our own seals to any original equipment specifications.” 

These include:

· Allocating additional resources to the firm’s Gloucester, MA headquarters and production facilities including setting up to rebuild large dies used in the geomembranes industry.
· Bolstering the firm’s in-house and out-of-house formal training. Most of the technicians at GEC have been formally trained in plastics engineering programs.
· Increasing its dedicated staff of technicians to work on die rebuilds.
· Offering, with the ability to add, new features and options to rebuilding dies.
· Putting into effect increasing efficiencies to enable GEC to trim die rebuild costs for customers where possible.

GEC’s Cros notes that the larger operation now offers:

- Stripping and re-plating of complete dies or components.
- Hand polishing of die components that eliminate minor surface imperfections.
- A full range of plating options, including electroless nickel, chrome and thin dense chrome.
- Machining for pin inserts to accommodate frequent die gap changes.
- Machining of both sizing rings and pin for inserts
- Better cosmetic look adding new guarding and cabinets.
- Inspection report services of each component which includes comprehensive recommendations on how to achieve even better performance.
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