7/6/2015 8:42:00 PM
HEADLINES
SHORTTAKES: Advanced Cable Ties, AFT Fasteners, ARaymond Network, Crescent Mfg., Screw Products and SGS / MSi Industrial Services

Advanced Cable Ties Inc. is opening a 53,000 sq ft addition which nearly doubles the size of its north central Massachusetts plant to 114,000 sq ft, president and owner Ken Tomasetti announced.

Founded in 1994 by the Tomasetti family, ACT manufactures cable ties and accessories at 245 Suffolk Ln., Gardner, MA  01446. Tel: 800 861-7228 Email: sales@actfs.com Web: advancedcableties.com

 

AFT Fasteners launched a new website: aftfasteners.com. The website provides new online search, ordering and technical capabilities.

“We’re simply trying to make it easy for manufacturers across the county to order the fastener and industrial supplies they need without the hassle,” said president Johnny Rose said. “We can provide competitively priced fasters, modify or manufacture them to your specifications and then custom plate them all in house, saving valuable time and expense.”

AFT Fasteners is an international fastener and industrial supply distributor stocking 200,000 parts for OEMs and MRO. Founded in 1984 as a local fastener distributor, AFT Industries today is comprised of AFT Fasteners, AFT Manufacturing, AFT Supply and Automated Finishing Technology. AFT has facilities in Texas and Illinois and distribution centers throughout the U.S. and is headquartered at 715 Avenue H East, Arlington, TX 76011. Tel: 469 865-2800 Email: info@Aftfasteners.com

 

Local civic and government leaders participated in the dedication ceremony with ARaymond Network CEO Antoine Raymond for a $12 million expansion of the Reconnect Inc.  plant in southeastern Michigan. The facility manufactures engineered injection-molded fasteners for the automotive industry.

Rayconnect is part of the ARaymond Network of companies which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year (see FIN, June 9, 2015).

The Rochester Hills plant expansion adds 30,000 sq ft of manufacturing and office space to the 75,000-sq ft and allows three, eight-hour shifts, five days a week.  

CEO Raymond said the expansion will add 60 employees over the next two years, including skilled production technicians to operate new machinery. The plant now has 114 employees.

The plant produces fittings for fluid-handling systems for the automotive, heavy truck, recreational, off-road vehicle and industrial markets. The fittings are used for fuel lines, fuel vapor lines, coolant hoses, oil hoses and other fluid applications.

The expansion increases injection molding machine capacity from 26 to 46 and adds room for six additional assembly machines for a total of 18. The company is adding injection-molding tools and other auxiliary equipment to produce assembly components.

“ARaymond Quick Connector products are used by virtually every automotive OEM in the world,” said business development VP Craig Cheney. “Our direct customer base includes Tier II and Tier III automotive and heavy-truck suppliers.”

Operations manager Gary Warren noted that when the plant opened six years ago it achieved certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED Gold). The facility sits on 10 acres overlooking a lake and a natural habitat area. 

“Our objective is to be a socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen,” Warren said. “We are connected to Oakland University to further support learning and help in the development of new talent. We also believe in employee empowerment at all levels throughout the organization – empowerment that clearly contributes to the growth and success of our operations.”

ARaymond’s original U.S. manufacturing facility opened in 1986 in Rochester Hills.

ARaymond provides metal processing, plastic injection molding, adhesives plus metal and plastic parts for the automotive and heavy truck industries, industrial, energy, agriculture and medical life sciences.  Headquartered in Grenoble, France, ARaymond has 5,500 employees in 25 countries at 25 production sites and 11 design offices. Global sales topped $1 billion last year. Web: araymond.com

In North America, Rayconnect manufactures fluid connectors and A. Raymond Tinnerman manufactures clips, fasteners and connectors. 

 

Crescent Mfg. opened a 7,000 sq ft addition primarily for wire storage, tooling and maintenance to increase efficiency.

Founded in 1960, Crescent moved to its current building in 1967. This is their third addition to the facility.

Recent promotions include Ginger Doherty, who adds domestic sales manager to her international sales role reporting to VP of sales/quality coordinator Kim Guerrette.

Aron Stevenson, who holds a degree in finance and has been with Crescent since 2006, was promoted to controller, succeeding Rick Green, who retired after 24 years.

Former material handler Jerry Sheehan was promoted to succeed Stevenson in customer service / production control.

Reginald Kozuch succeeds Sheehan as materials manager.

And Wendi Duran was added to the company’s inside sales department.

In addition, Crescent has recently added three new threading operators and a heading operator.

Chairman Steve Wilson told FIN that new machinery allows Crescent to produce larger and smaller diameters plus additional parts.

The company has also added trimming capability.

Founded in 1960, Crescent manufactures miniature screws and other fasteners for the aerospace, military and commercial markets. The company is headquartered at 700 George Washington Turnpike, Burlington, CT 06013. Tel: 860 673-2591 Email: sales@crescentmanufacturing.com Web: crescentmanufacturing.com

 

Rick Pully joined Screw Products Inc. as VP of sales. Pully has 14 years of experience in construction fastening with ITW. CEO Jim Miller said Pully’s “years of experience will be key to our future growth.”

Screw Products provides fasteners for deck, construction lags, general purpose, drywall, cabinetry and finish work and DeckLok and RailLok, anchoring systems. Screw Products is located at 9401 54th Ave. NW, Bldg. 1B, Gig Harbor, WA 98332. Tel: 877 844-8880 Email: info@screw-products.com Web: screw-products.com

 

SGS / MSi Industrial Services expanded metal testing capabilities, business development leader Jeffrey Smith announced. MSi was acquired two years ago by SGS.  

The Chicago facility is a 33,000 sq ft lab providing mechanical testing, chemical composition analysis, metallurgical microstructure examinations and failure analysis.

SGS North America is headquartered at 1390 N. 25th Ave., Melrose Park, IL 60160. Tel: 708 343-3444 Email: Jeffrey.Smith@sgs.com Web: us.sgs.com/industrial