Plastics Company Expanding in Michigan

Fowlerville, Mich.-based Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Inc. is adding equipment, another production line and people to accommodate increased business.The company said the addition of a new compounding line and peripheral equipment will increase production capacity by 30%, which is needed to handle an uptick in sales of the Leon (PA66 and PA66+6I) and Xyro (mPPE) engineering plastics product families. Asahi Kasei Plastics also is adding a line in the lab for R&D, new product development and improved customer support. As part of the expansion, the company said it will add 10 new positions in skilled trades and support services and six new positions in sales, marketing and development. The investment comes on the heels of a $3 million investment in 2010 to upgrade existing production lines to accommodate the growing business. "Last year, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary and marked a 300% growth in business from when we started," said John Moyer, president of Asahi Kasei Plastics North America. "Today, with this investment, we are focusing on the future, which promises continued success thanks to our wonderful customers, employees and supplier network. "We are very grateful and proud to be part of the U.S. manufacturing comeback and competing in the global arena."Prasad Puttagunta, vice president, operations, said the company doesn't fall into the category of "recovering.""We have recovered and are increasing our presence in numerous markets," Puttagunta said. "Now we are ready to invest capital in our facilities to support the hard work and success of our sales, marketing, research and development groups. The growth we've seen in our new-products market is supporting this investment and our next capacity increase is scheduled for 2012."Asahi Kasei Plastics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. The company provides customized resin solutions worldwide to multiple markets.