GW Plastics Completes Multiple Expansions

Bethel, Vt.-based GW Plastics, a provider of injection molding and contract manufacturing to the healthcare market, has completed the recent expansions at their Tucson, Ariz., and Dongguan, China, facilities for the firm’s medical device assembly business. GW Plastics specializes in complex injection molded thermoplastic and silicone solutions, including close-tolerance mold building, precision injection molding, and contract assembly. Core competencies include product development, in-house precision tooling, scientific injection molding, and automated assembly.

GW Plastics’ Tucson facility has recently completed a 30,000-square-foot expansion including clean-room molding, contract assembly, warehousing, and regulatory office space. Tucson’s medical device contract manufacturing capabilities now include clean- and white-room precision molding, automated and manual assembly, and finished packaging capabilities encompassing pouching, tray-lidding, rigid and flexible form, fill, seal, order fulfillment warehousing and contract sterilization.

“GW Tucson has transformed its facilities during the last 24 months into a world-class medical device contract manufacturing operation. I could not be more proud of our team,” said James Ford, GW Tucson general manager.

At the same time, GW Dongguan is in the final stages of completing a new 125,000-square-foot facility more than doubling the size of the existing China plant. GW’s new China facility will permit the company to streamline their tooling, molding, and medical device assembly operations while leaving significant room for future contract manufacturing growth, company leadership said.

The facility is expected to be fully operational in late 2015 and will feature product development services, in-house tooling, precision molding and clean-room contract assembly.

“Both Ed Boyden, GW Dongguan general manager, and I are very excited about our new facility in China,” said Ben Bouchard, GW Plastics vice president of international business development and managing director, China. “GW Dongguan will truly be one of the most advanced medical device injection molding and contract manufacturing operations in Asia”.

Of the international expansion, GW Plastics President and CEO Brenan Riehl said: “This has allowed GW Plastics to become a natural extension of our customers’ production capabilities by providing them with a reliable and proven partner to confidently develop and manufacture their finished medical devices across the globe,”

LSR Expansion

GW Plastics also has expanded its in-house liquid silicone rubber (LSR) tooling at its affiliate, GW Silicones, which was established in 2008. In the past year, the company has built and qualified a multiple complex 32-cavity LSR slide molds.

“Working closely with our in-house tool shop has allowed for this type of flexibility, improvement, and growth,” said Mark Hammond, GW Silicones general manager. “There are not many companies who can say that they have the capabilities to build molds like these, and we could not be more proud and excited for the future.”

Having in-house LSR tooling capabilities provides “endless benefits” to customers, according to Jason Bassi, GW Silicones business development manager.

“Everything stems back to our seamless communication. There is no greater benefit than having talented tool designers, program managers, and process engineers all under one roof,” said Bassi.

The company’s FDA-registered manufacturing facilities are located in Bethel and Royalton, Vt.; San Antonio, Texas; Tucson; Querétaro, Mexico; and Dongguan.