Tessy plans $9 million expansion to New York site

Custom injection molder Tessy Plastics (Elbridge, NY) is investing $9 million in an expansion of its Elbridge, NY site, including a new 90,000-ft² building and $2 million worth of machinery. The investment is part of a strategic plan to dedicate its existing building to medical customers and shift its consumer products business to the new facility. Roland Beck, Tessy president, told PlasticsToday that the new building, which will be expandable up to 180,000 ft², will be completed in July.

"Tessy's largest market segment is medical molding and assemblies," Beck said. "Our plan is to expand our existing AMF (advanced manufacturing facility) building with new medical work and make room by moving the production of parts we produce for consumer products into the new building." A portion of that consumer product work will include a recently awarded contract for a new assembled deodorant packaging.

Tessy created its AMF in 2004, starting with 60,000 ft² of production space used to mold high-volume parts for Gillette. In both 2006 and 2008, it added 40,000 ft² to the AMF, bringing in automated assembly equipment and clean room molding, including some medical business. The main medical customer is Johnson & Johnson, for which Tessy molds components used in minimally invasive surgeries.

Tessy, which also has facilities in Lynchburg, VA and Shanghai, employs 600 in Elbridge. Once the addition is completed, it expects to add around 50 new employees, with the New York headquarters having added around 200 jobs since 2002. Over that time, Tessy has invested roughly $40 million in buildings and equipment in Elbridge. Started in 1973 by Henry Beck and two partners, Tessy's original facility covered 12,000 ft². —[email protected]