FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARLINGTON, Vt. – Mack Molding’s Northern Operations, headquartered here, experienced approximately 10 percent sales growth during the last fiscal year, hired 50 new employees over the past 18 months, and is projecting double-digit growth in 2011.
Jeff Somple, president, Northern Operations, attributes much of the company’s good fortune to strategies developed a decade ago that he and his staff continue to fine-tune. Applying Mack’s extensive portfolio of services, including both plastics and metal, toward the medical device manufacturing market has been key. “While only one percent of our business in 2000, medical manufacturing represents 32.5 percent of our business today,” says Somple, “and we expect that to grow to 50 percent in the next couple of years.”
Secondly, the company is focusing on large, complex products that are difficult to ship and require a high degree of customization. “If it’s big, bulky, complex and low volume, it’s less likely to become a candidate for overseas manufacturing,” explains Somple, who also readily acknowledges an element of luck in Mack’s success. “We’ve hitched our wagon to some very successful companies that have rewarded our work with increased manufacturing responsibility for their products,” he says. “We’re also seeing a growing desire among several large U.S. customers to stake a ‘Made in the USA’ claim, and that’s what we’re really all about.”
Seeking new talent
To continue serving its expanding business, Mack is aggressively looking for new talent in several key functional areas, including engineering, sales, quality, manufacturing and technical support. “These are positions that are currently open and that we want to fill immediately,” says Kevin Dailey, director, Human Resources. Current job opportunities at Mack are posted at www.mack.com, Employment tab.
Developing Machining Center
The company is also developing a machining center to complement its array of services. Nearly a $1 million investment, the machining center will allow the company to do much of its own milling and turning work, a previously outsourced service. “We’ve made space available in the headquarters plant, so the center will be up and running in a matter of weeks,” says Somple. Once complete, it will house a high-powered turning center and full-function machining center that will produce a part in a single step, as well as a CNC machine, two Swiss lathes, tooling, and several pieces of auxiliary equipment. While the management staff for the new machining center is in place, Mack expects to hire 10-15 additional production employees over the next year.
About Mack Molding
Mack Molding is a leading custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services. Mack specializes in plastics design, prototyping, molding, sheet metal fabrication, and medical device manufacturing. Founded in 1920, Mack is a privately owned business that operates 10 facilities throughout the world. Don Kendall is president and CEO. For more information, go to www.mack.com.
