HEBRON, Ky.—Desma USA Inc. is expanding its facility in Hebron by 5,000 square feet, bringing the total size of the plant to 25,000 square feet.
The company is installing a five-axis milling center and will add up to three additional employees. The mold shop employs 12 of the Hebron facility's work force of 40.
Desma is investing about $1 million in the project, $500,000 for the physical expansion and about $500,000 for the milling center. The firm said installation of the center will begin in July, with the expansion projected to be completed in December.
“Our machine sales, mold sales and our cold runner sales are developing faster than we have capacity for,” said Scott Early, president and CEO of Desma USA. “We needed to add additional floor space and machining capability to meet the demand of our customers.”
Desma has invested more than $3 million in milling, grinding and turning equipment since 2008. Prior to that, the firm didn't produce a single mold; rather it bought them from its parent company or other manufacturers in the North American market.
Early said mold sales have grown by 20 percent in 2012 and again in 2013.
Desma's sales are in excess of $3.8 million in molds and cold runners.
“We're not 100 percent reliant on one specific industry,” Early said. “We've grown our business to have strong sales in each sector.”
The CEO highlighted the energy and natural resource industries as ones with growth opportunities.
The additional milling center will give Hebron—Desma's only North American facility—a total of five. It also has two turning centers, a surface grinder and three full-time mold designers.
