VRC Engineered Solutions to close Classic Molding

MILWAUKEE—VRC Engineered Solutions, a producer of highly customized molded rubber, plastic and sealing components, will close Classic Molding Co., its plastic injection molding facility in Schiller Park, Ill.

VRC on Oct. 23 issued a federal notice of closure to the 111 employees at the facility, which sits just to the east of O'Hare International Airport.

"The plant will close," George Caplea, CEO of VRC, told Rubber News Nov. 9. "This was a function of a major customer moving to Mexico to make their parts there."

Caplea added that certain "key members" of the work force at Classic Molding will be retained until the official closure, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

"The business that can be moved will be moved to the plant in Wisconsin (the Ritus Corp., which works on both rubber and plastics)," he said. "I feel sorry for the workers."

According to Illinoisworknet.com, a layoff assistance site that serves the greater Chicago area, an employer with more than 100 workers must file the WARN, which gives employees a 60-day notice of the plant's closure.

Classic Molding is one of three plastics businesses and three rubber businesses consolidated under VRC Engineering, Caplea said.

None of the other five business units are expected to be affected by the closure in Schiller Park.

VRC, headquartered in Milwaukee, also comprises Vanseal Corp. (radial lip and hydraulic rubber seals), Ritus Corp. (wiring grommets, ducts, hoses and seals) and Idaho-based Cascadia Custom Molding (close-tolerance molding TPEs), the latter of which VRC Engineering Solutions purchased in March 2021.

Classic Molding, in Cook County, was founded in 1969, according to VRC's website. Ritus, now under VRC, purchased Classic Molding in 1999.

Vanseal, Ritus and Classic then consolidated under VRC in 2020.

At least two online real estate sites, including LoopNet.com, listed the 35,240-sq.-ft. property where Classic operates as being for sale in April 2022, at a listing price of $2.1 million, or about $60 per square foot.

The listing was current as of Nov. 9, according to LoopNet.com.

The building itself, built in 1956, is zoned for both manufacturing and warehouse uses, according to Illinoisworknet.com.

"Classic Molding Co. is recognized as a leader in custom plastic injection molding," Classic Molding's LinkedIn site states. "Classic provides value-added manufacturing by being a single-source supplier including in-house tool design, secondary services, direct-to-store delivery and quick turnaround."

VRC serves the aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial, oil and gas, marine and medical markets with its specialty components, as a "fast-to-market, multi-platform manufacturing group," according to the company's website.

The company offers both rubber and plastics injection molding, compression molding, custom formula development, design engineering and dynamic testing, among many other services.

A Cleveland-based private equity firm, Blue Point Capital, bought VRC for an undisclosed amount in August 2019.

The private equity owner has provided VRC both capital and management expertise, VRC told Rubber News at the time.

Blue Point manages more than $1.5 billion in committed capital and has a presence in both the U.S. and Asia. The firm typically invests in businesses that generate between $20 million and $300 million in annual revenue.