Mid-States Aluminum broke ground on its $20 million investment project, which involves the purchase of a new extrusion press line and upgrade of its facility in Fond du Lac, WI. The extruder produces precision profiles and machined components with tight tolerances for a variety of markets, including: electrical and electronics, medical, machinery and equipment, automotive, and building and construction. The investments will help Mid-States maintain a competitive advantage in the market for aluminum extrusions and value-added components.
“We see continued demand from new and existing customers across all industry sectors for high quality parts, excellent customer service and short lead times,” said James Spannbauer, Mid-States president and CEO. “The new equipment and new associates [employees] allow us to address these customer needs.”
Mid-States ordered a new high-efficiency press line from OMAV, including a new SMS press and a fully automated material handling system to replace an existing smaller press and manual material handling equipment. “The new 3,100-ton press will increase efficiency over current equipment and at the same time expand our capabilities to manufacture larger extrusion profiles,” said Michael Wahl, Mid-States director of engineering and project lead.
The equipment will require the construction of a 36,000-square-foot expansion to Mid-States’ current 245,000-square-foot facility, which is located in the Rolling Meadows Industrial Park. The entire project is expected to take 15 months to complete and will add 36 new positions to the company. “The new press supports the current and future growth plans of our organization,” said Wahl. “Since January, we have added 37 new associates and are currently hiring for technical and manufacturing positions.”
The new equipment is expected to be operational by mid-2019.