Plastics Color Corp. to expand US facility in 2014

Plastics Color Corporation (PCC), a leading supplier of color concentrates, compounds, custom-functional masterbatches and other polymer technologies, has announced plans to significantly expand production capacity at its Calumet City, Illinois manufacturing facility. The expansion will add 40,000 square feet to the building and a minimum of one multi-function production line.

According to PCC’s Corporate Operations Manager Wes Woldt, the new line will give PCC 40 percent more capacity in Illinois and employ seven to ten personnel including an Operations Manager, a senior leadership position which the company plans to hire in the coming weeks. “We will break ground on the project as soon as weather permits,” said Woldt, “and expect to be operational by late 2014.” According to Woldt, this is the first building expansion of the Calumet City plant since 1981.

The Illinois management is preparing an RFQ for new extrusion equipment and plans to select suppliers in late February. PCC President Doug Borgsdorf said, “We are looking for suppliers that will provide the same level of service and technology we provide to our customer base.”

The company has been running three shifts at Calumet City since March. Due to the rapid expansion of its black production business, production has gone to a seven-day a week schedule to meet customer demand, increasing capacity by 18 percent this December.

The expansion of the Calumet plant is part of a corporate strategy to grow our black capacity in Illinois while our facilities in North Carolina, California and China focus on liquid color, color concentrate and specialty solutions such as our new antimicrobials, flame retardants and anti-counterfeiting products.

PCC recently added two new extruders at its Asheboro facility and is stepping up production in China and California as well. Additionally, new liquid color production equipment has been ordered for the Asheboro facility, providing a wider range of product offerings for that plant. The company is also exploring several opportunities in Latin America, with a partnership or acquisition in Brazil at the top of its list.