Web-exclusive: Hoffer and Intec form alliance for growthWeb-exclusive: Hoffer and Intec form alliance for growth

Two privately held 55-year-old Illinois molders have formed a strategic alliance to strengthen each other's businesses. With a focus on the packaging, consumer, and industrial sectors, $60 million Hoffer Plastics Corp. (www.hofferplastics.com) has made a minority investment in $90 million automotive molder The Intec Group Inc. (www.intecgrp.com).

Hoffer, which employs about 300 at its 360,000-ft² South Elgin facility, will gain access to Intec's overseas manufacturing capabilities, according to company president William Hoffer, while Intec, with its 150 Palatine employees and 700 workers at its Mexico and Far East plants, will secure the resources to expand production capacity, says Scott Perlman, Intec's co-CEO. The Palatine plant is 60,000 ft².