MedPlast completes upgrades at Tempe, AZ facility

MedPlast completed a major renovation and expansion of its 50,000-ft² Tempe, AZ facility, giving the company greater capacity for cleanroom molding and allowing it to better serve customers located in the Western U.S. and Mexico. Tempe also is the corporate headquarters for MedPlast Inc.

The Tempe plant now includes two class 100,000 cleanrooms, each of which houses injection molding and automated assembly operations. The molding operation currently has 23 presses sized up to 400 tons, and the company is now moving in molds from various customers. Five molds will be received in the next week with 17 more to follow, said Mike Farrell, executive VP of sales & marketing for MedPlast, in an interview at the plant.
   
The renovation included a new roof and a complete upgrade of each area, including the mold manufacturing department, which is now a clean environment. The mold manufacturing department is anticipating adding another CNC mill to accommodate increased demand. A separate clean area was established strictly for mold repairs to keep that area separate from design and construction. “Our goal is to begin building molds here, where it’s more convenient for our West Coast customers,” said Farrell. MedPlast also has a mold manufacturing facility in West Berlin, NJ.
   
The Q/C lab contains a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), a programmable vision system, melt flow analyzer, an Instron machine for testing molded “dog bones,” and a moisture analyzer. “We have several jobs for which we’ll check the resin prior to startup and then several times throughout the day,” said Chris Morton, COO.

MedPlast Inc. specializes in molding thermoplastic and elastomeric components used in the healthcare and consumer/industrial markets at five locations throughout the U.S. encompassing more than 375,000 ft² of manufacturing space and more than 200 injection molding machines. —Clare Goldsberry