MANCHESTER, England—Americhem Inc. has updated and renovated its United Kingdom masterbatch facility in Manchester.
The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Americhem said the investment in Manchester also involves a redesign of the factory's workflow, and has been made to support its customers in the automotive sector. Americhem has not announced the value of the investment.
"Part of the work involved combining two factories located across the street from one another,"Americhem said. "The manufacturing process went through a lean overhaul before any of the work began. The refurbishment will benefit the company's automotive customers but also customers from the synthetic fibers, packaging and film and sheet industries."
Americhem has installed a new extrusion line in the renovated production hall and it ordered a second new extruder. These new lines will be capable of producing any of the company's masterbatch products, it said, but they are intended especially to produce additive masterbatch, such as its nDuramax ultraviolet stabilizers, nShield antimicrobials, optical brighteners and other products.
The Manchester facility has been undergoing renovation work since 2016. The project is part of Americhem's program of continuous improvement, which includes inventory management and strategy.
"The renovation and expansion will result in a significant increase in the plant's manufacturing capacity and there is room for future expansion including the soon-to-be installed production line," the company said. "The renovations also included a complete rebuild of the company's existing production equipment, ensuring the highest quality products for Americhem's customers."
The Manchester plant's laboratories are also being expanded and fitted with new equipment, including a new high speed spin line and a polymeric film line. Other manufacturing pilot lines in the lab include injection molding, extrusion and blow molding.
"The work at our plant is the result of a desire to serve our customers and position ourselves for growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region," said Thomas Weigl, Americhem's vice president and managing director, EMEA. "These renovations will allow us to better control efficiency from product design through manufacturing to end-product quality control. We want customers to visit to see the difference for themselves."