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Automotive Industry Growth Spurs Team 1 Plastics Expansion

Listening to its customers’ concerns and providing them with solutions is a strength of Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company specializing in automotive parts. The company, located in Albion, Michigan, is expanding its building and production capabilities as a direct result of the automotive industry’s growth.

Since 2010, the automotive industry has been on a steady growth increase. North American automotive production is slated to reach 17.5 million units in 2015 and predicted to attain 19 million units by 2019, according to data from IHS Automotive.

This growth means that suppliers, like Team 1 Plastics, need to be able to produce at a greater rate. The automotive industry is concerned how its suppliers will be able to keep up with the increased demand. To be successful, “OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] will have to manage rising production volumes … building a local supplier base, designing and enhanced supply chain, and bolstering supplier capacities,” according to McKinsey & Company’s report, “The road to 2020 and beyond: What’s driving the global automotive industry?”

Team 1 Plastics is positioning itself to meet this larger supply demand by expanding both its building and production capability. In mid-October 2015, two new molding machines (180 and 260 metric tons) arrived at Team 1. Construction to increase the plant by 3,500 square feet is scheduled to begin in November 2015. This is the first building expansion in more than 15 years for the company. This added floor space will allow Team 1 to relocate its Maintenance Department, which, in turn, allows for additional space to expand its production capability. In the space, the company plans to add a total of seven new molding machines as new business warrants future expansions. Three of these machines will have production capabilities of greater than 200 metric tons. The other four will be less than 200 metric tons.

The local economy will also be positively affected by this expansion because Team 1 expects to increase its labor force. According to company officials, the expansion has the potential to add five to six new jobs.