Kruger Plastics Products Acquires Northern California Injection Molding and El Dorado Molds

Kruger Plastics Products, Bridgman, Mich., which was acquired by HC Private Investments in partnership with management in December 2017, has acquired Northern California Injection Molding (NCIM) and El Dorado Molds of Rancho Cordova, Calif., giving the company a presence on the West Coast while expanding mold making and medical molding capabilities. Kruger also announced that it has changed its name to Springboard Manufacturing. NCIM’s executive team, led by Glen Shrigley, will continue to manage the California operations.

Kruger was founded in 1975 and has four operations spread across Michigan (Bridgman and Galien) and North Carolina (Greensboro), with more than 300,000-ft² of manufacturing space. Doug Constable, Springboard CEO told Plastics Technology that there are approximately 40 injection molding machines at NCIM in California, with clamp tonnages there topping out at 500-600 tons. In Michigan, the former Kruger has approximately 60 injection molding machines, including larger presses ranging up to 1300 tons. In the new Greensboro, N.C. facility, there are only two machines at this time, but the number will grow, according to Constable. The Greensboro operation is nearly complete undergoing final inspections and permitting, with Springboard hoping to be running production by mid to late April, according to Constable.

NCIM is ISO 9001:2015 certified and applies scientific molding principles to its operations, according to the company. Its 57,750-ft² production floor includes a Class 100,000 clean room covering 1100-ft² with seven injection molding machines. In addition, the company has a secondary portable Class 100,000 clean room that cover 256 ft² and can accommodate two molding machines. El Dorado, a sister company to NCIM, runs a full-scale mold making operation including a range of machining equipment.

Constable noted that Kruger has an in-house mold making operation in Michigan, with the company making a high percentage of the tools it runs internally, but its production is at a smaller scale than El Dorado. Constable told Plastics Technology that the combined NCIM/El Dorado business was appealing to Kruger, now Springboard, for multiple reasons.

“I think multiple things were attractive,” Constable said. “The geographic aspect important. To go after business we want, including larger national customers, we needed a presence on the West Coast. [NCIM/El Dorado] are also a great cultural fit. We’re very careful to marry companies that fit culturally, and they have that quality and customer first mindset.” Constable also said the companies capabilities and staff were appealing to Springboard.