Muskego-based Inpro Corp. has begun manufacturing its recently acquired Fireline 520 LLC expansion joint products from its Mesa, Ariz., facility.
Inpro acquired Buffalo, N.Y.-based Fireline 520 LLC, one of the nation’s premier designers and manufacturers of fire barriers for expansion joints, in January.
Now, in addition to the Fireline 520 facility in Buffalo, Inpro is manufacturing Fireline 520 products out of its Mesa facility, underscoring its practices of protection for buildings and the people who use them every day to the western United States and beyond.
The availability of Fireline 520 products from this facility is said to drastically speed up delivery times to the Western United States.
“Inpro is pleased to announce additional manufacturing capabilities and product certifications of our patented Fireline 520 product line to be produced at Inpro Mesa, Ariz., (ISO9001 certified) in addition to Buffalo, N.Y.,” said Glenn Kennedy, chief operating officer at Inpro. “Having the product strategically manufactured at two locations will improve response time and reduce shipping costs to our customers, especially those who reside in the West.”
Previously, the only facility manufacturing Fireline 520 products was located in Buffalo, N.Y., where Fireline 520 was founded. Shipping products west proved costly and lead times were much higher for that part of the country.
“One of my goals at Fireline 520 was to expand our services to the Western part of the United States,” said Al Shaw, general manager of Fireline 520. “We had calls coming in from all over the West demanding our products, but our only manufacturing facility was in Buffalo.
“A lot of times we were overburdened with orders, and shipping Fireline 520 products to the West took much longer and cost more than we liked,” Shaw said. “Joining the Inpro family solved our problem. Leveraging their Mesa operation, we were able to more easily expand our products and services to the Western United States, relieving much of the burden our Buffalo facility carried. Now, contractors and architects from the West have faster access to our products.”
The installation of fire blankets and fire-stop materials in expansion joints protects buildings and reduces occupants’ exposure to smoke and flame, which allows for safer evacuation. Fireline 520 also holds several patents incorporating vapor and water barrier systems to reduce a building’s exposure to the elements.
