Kenosha plastic injection molder Xten Industries is adding a fourth shift so it can run 24/7 to keep up with growth.
The company acquired the assets of Paramount Plastics LLC in Lockport, Ill. in May. It is still completing the integration, but the combined company will have grown from 180 to 220 employees when it is finished and the extra shift is added, said Matthew Davidson, CEO and co-founder.
Xten has been able to turn Paramount around and gain new business for the facility.
“We’ve really got some great people there, which is always a huge plus, and we’ve added quite a few,” Davidson said. “We’re very lucky to have new business that we’re putting into the facility.”
Davidson hopes to get to 24/7 production in Kenosha by Thanksgiving and by the end of December in Lockport.
“Most of our customers are in the Milwaukee to Chicagoland area because we do a lot of just in time delivery,” he said. “Most of them need to be within a day’s shipping of the plant.”
Xten recently landed the largest customer in the company’s 72-year history, which will account for about $10 million in annual revenue in 2013. It also has a new $8 million customer.
The company is on track for $50 million in revenue in 2013, up from $20 million in 2011 and $38 million expected for this year.
Davidson attributes Xten’s growth to the company’s “multifacturing” process. He strives to never say “no” to a customer, making, sourcing and assembling whatever is needed to deliver a finished product.
