Since its 1969 beginnings in a garage on Pleasant Street, the company, and the family behind it, has always had its eye on the next step.
That next step involves some cutting edge technology that Tech II’s owners hope will help them stand out in the arena of high volume plastic container manufacturing for the food industry.
The company is spending $6 million to add 65,000 square feet to its 200,000 square foot facility and to purchase cutting-edge IML thermoforming equipment.
IML stands for in-mold labeling. The new equipment includes the FT3500 thermoforming machine and a robotics system that was purchased from Hekuma GmbH in Eching, Germany. These additions will make Tech II the only company in North America that offers IML in thermoforming technology, according to Tech II.
“It’s somewhat of an emerging technology,” said Dave Shiffer, Tech II president, adding that only a handful of companies in Europe utilize IML in thermoforming.
Shiffer explained that thermoforming involves heating a sheet of plastic and molding it into the desired shape. IML combines thermoforming with in-mold technology, resulting in a container in which the label and plastic are fused.
According to Shiffer, IML technology will allow Tech II to offer its customers expanded choices in package shape while also providing high end graphics.
“You want your product to stand out on a grocery store shelf,” Shiffer explained. “In today’s world, everybody’s into round. What we’re trying to do is have products that are uniquely shaped ... that have great graphics.”
Before IML thermoforming, graphics were more limited for uniquely shaped containers and were more expensive. Shrink-wrapped sleeves offer high quality graphics, but represent a secondary operation that adds cost.
Shiffer said that another benefit of IML technology is the ability to produce containers with barrier properties. Convenience foods that are sold straight off the grocery shelf without refrigeration require barriers within the plastic that keep oxygen from permeating, keeping the contents fresh.
“There are a lot of thermoforming companies out there. Some do unique shapes that are injection molded ... but you can’t get barrier with injection molding,” said Shiffer. “What we’re doing is coming to the market with really a niche business of high end graphics that can manufacture unique shapes with barrier properties.”
Another benefit of this new technology is an added flexibility in the use of post consumer reground product. Shiffer explained that IML thermoforming will allow Tech II to create containers that are more lightweight, putting less material into the environment.
The company plans to begin production with the new technology sometime this spring. With these advances, Tech II also hopes to eventually bring new jobs to the area.
“There are a lot of possibilities for the future,” Shiffer said. “...With the flexibility in this type of machinery, the window’s pretty wide.”
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