Daily News

Meredith-Springfield Associates Breaks Ground on Expansion Project

LUDLOW — Meredith-Springfield Associates Inc., a plastics manufacturer specializing in bottles and hollow technical articles manufactured through extrusion blow molding and injection stretch blow molding, recently broke ground on an expansion in Ludlow.

The project will add 5,000 square feet of light manufacturing space, 12,000 square feet of warehouse space, and three new loading docks in a 1,000-square-foot addition, bringing the total facility to 83,000 square feet. The larger footprint makes way for six top-of-the-line machines that will help to automate production and increase capacity.

“Meredith-Springfield was chartered in 1979,” President and CEO Mel O’Leary said. “Through our years of incredible growth, we’ve called Massachusetts home, so to be able to expand our headquarters where our company was born is important to who we are.”

Since its founding, Meredith-Springfield has offered extrusion and coextrusion (double- and triple-layer) blow molding and injection stretch blow molding of PET, HDPE, PP, PVC, PA, ePET, TPE, TPU, ABS, LDPE, and fluoropolymers for clients spanning the globe. Notable customers include American Distilling, B&G Foods, Henkel, Honeywell LifeMade Products, PepsiCo, Reebok, and more.

“It’s been a challenge to meet the needs of our growing business with our existing space,” O’Leary added. “This investment in the building and manufacturing equipment allows us to better plan for the future and increase efficiencies. It will give us room to grow while enhancing our manufacturing and warehouse spaces.”

In the coming months, Meredith-Springfield will install two new extrusion blow molding machines, a Bekum 155 and R&B/Sika 850 long stroke, as well as an Aoki AL-1000 injection stretch blow molding machine. In addition to the molding machines, the manufacturer has acquired three new, fully automatic Dyco Baggers and a Mexan Automation semi-automatic bagger. These machines will automate bottle discharges from the machines after their production, with attached conveyors offering leak checks and visual inspections. Then the baggers will palletize the finished products, readying them for shipping while eliminating the use of corrugated boxes.

“Ultimately, our goal is to serve our customers with reduced lead times and higher-quality products that are more sustainably packaged,” O’Leary said. “We’ll soon have the space and equipment we need to move forward to the next level as a company while providing the service our clients expect and deserve. We’re all very excited to start this next phase in our company’s evolution.”