Soaring Demand Drives Expansion at Pacific Plastics Injection Molding

Pacific Plastics Injection Molding (PPIM) has almost doubled the size of its Vista, CA, plant, expanding from 24,000 to 46,000 square feet. A division of employee-owned Diversified Plastics Inc. (DPI), headquartered in Minneapolis, PPIM said the expansion was needed to satisfy rapidly increasing demand for its manufacturing services and is part of a three-year growth initiative. Combined, the DPI facility in Minnesota and PPIM facility in California now total 99,000 square feet.

In 2019, PPIM expanded its manufacturing, assembly, and office space by 5,000 square feet, adding plastic injection molding presses and an automation system in the process. Since then, orders from new and existing customers have grown rapidly, said the company. One example it cites in its press release is a customer that provides filters used in the production of COVID-19 vaccines. This growth has caused a shortage of warehouse space for raw materials and inventory of bulky parts for weekly shipments.

“While production has doubled, we did not have enough warehouse space,” said Rob Gilman, PPIM General Manager. “As a short-term solution, we added cargo containers in the shipping bay and parking lot.”

PPIM said that it will also expand its injection molding press capacity 20% by the end of the year and is beginning a transition to all-electric injection molding machines.

This growth also results in more jobs. In April, PPIM hired a new production manager, Ray Rivas. At the beginning of June, Pablo Soto was appointed quality manager. There are now 120 employee-owners at the DPI and PPIM locations.

As part of its three-year growth initiative, PPIM also plans to add a cleanroom and pursue ISO 13485 certification. These steps are designed to broaden the company’s medical device manufacturing, assembly, and packaging capabilities in a second location.