Reshoring Helps GW Plastics Build 12,000 sq ft Cleanroom

GW Plastics, a US-based contract manufacturer for leading OEMs in the medical device and healthcare markets, has announced the completion of a 12,000 sq ft (1,114.8 sq m) cleanroom manufacturing expansion at the company’s Tucson facility in Arizona to support its rapidly growing medical device assembly and packaging business.

The expansion was built to accommodate the reshoring of two large contract manufacturing programmes with prominent healthcare OEMs. Reshoring is a trend in North America whereby manufacturing operations are returning from lower cost overseas locations.

According to GW, a successful programme currently in production at GW Plastics’ Dongguan facility in China consisting of precision moulding, assembly and packaging for a drug delivery device paved the way for the development of a new application with the same customer. The project will utilise GW Tucson’s advanced injection moulding capabilities and its automated assembly and packaging expertise.

The second large medical device programme was relocated from Mexico to take advantage of GW’s integrated cleanroom moulding, automated assembly and finished packaging capabilities, including pouching, tray-lidding, rigid and flexible form, fill and seal (FFS) packaging. GW Tucson currently serves as the company’s leading platform for medical device contract manufacturing specializing in automated and semi-automated assembly and device packaging.

“We are committed to investing in the latest technology to help our customers reduce costs and improve quality through the use of highly automated integrated thermoplastic and liquid silicone molding, assembly and advanced in-house tooling solutions,” states Tim Reis, VP of healthcare business development at GW Plastics. “The expansion of our Tucson facility will allow us to offer our customers a standardized, global approach to medical device contract manufacturing," he added.