Jyco weathersealing capacity quadruples
By Mike McNulty Crain staff (R&PN)
Ann Arbor, Michigan -- Automotive parts producer Jyco Sealing Technologies Inc. has doubled the size and quadrupled the capacity of its weathersealing systems plant in Guaymas, Mexico.
Jyco added 18,300 square feet to the factory, expanding it to 36,000 square feet, according to Shawn Jyawook, chief operating officer of Jyco.
The addition was made primarily to handle four contracts the firm recently received from General Motors Corp. for thermoplastic vulcanisate sealing systems to be used as part of the auto maker's Gamma program, which focuses on fuel efficient small family cars and sport-utility vehicles.
New state-of-the-art machinery also is being brought on board at the Guaymas site, Jyawook said, including two extruding lines, numerous moulding presses and four robotic work cells. In the early part of 2012 the company plans to add an encapsulate work cell.
The plant now has six injection moulding cells and four TPV extrusion lines.
In addition, Jyco's work force at the Guaymas factory is going through a significant growth spurt, rising from 85 last year to about 160 presently and an estimated 224 later this year, Jyawook said.
The Mexican facility is primarily a production center for TPV weathersealing systems used in automobiles, SUVs and light trucks. It also houses engineering and sales units for Jyco's operations in Latin America.
In addition to the factory, located in northwest Mexico about 300 miles south of Tucson, Ariz., Ann Arbor-headquartered Jyco has operations in the US, Canada, Japan and China.
When the company, which was established in 2000, started manufacturing products at the plant in 2007, it had four employees, founder and CEO Sam Jyawook said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the site's expansion in mid-April.
With the employee figure closing in on 160, the factory is now shipping 50,000 parts per week, he said. By the end of 2011, he predicted about 100,000 parts a week will be shipped from the facility.
Jyawook said that while a number of companies from around the world competed for the contracts with GM, “we won. Specifically, Jyco Guaymas won.†He said parts made at the site will be shipped worldwide.
The global contracts are primarily for automobile windows, Shawn Jyawook said, and are scheduled for staggered starts, with two beginning in 2011 and two starting in 2012. Financial details of the pacts were not disclosed.
Jyco, a pioneer in TPV sealing technologies, is drawing a good deal of business because “the market is moving toward TPV technology,†he said. The key drivers are long-term durability, cost and recyclable qualities of TPV, he said.
From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)
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