McPherson, KS, Feb. 15, 2021 ̶̶ Plastics Extrusion Machinery LLC (PEM), the leading U.S. manufacturer of downstream extrusion equipment in the PVC pipe and custom profile industries will be closing its facility located in Tumwater, Washington on Friday, April 30, 2021. This decision comes after being notified that the lease on our facility there would not be renewed.
After much deliberation, it was decided that the best option would be to consolidate all operations into our new facility in McPherson, Kansas which is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2021. The new facility features an additional 73,000 square feet which is more than enough space to accommodate all the equipment and machinery in Washington.
“The decision to make the Washington move during the same year that we are moving into our new Kansas facility was not ideal from a timing standpoint, but from a long-term perspective, is the best solution moving forward,” said Nathan Spearman, PEM’s Owner and CEO.
PEM employees in Washington all received an opportunity to submit interest in relocating to Kansas and continue their employment with the company. Of those that submitted interest, a few strategic employees were offered relocation to Kansas and others will be working for us remotely. PEM’s hope is to minimize any delays to customers during this transition and ensure that we retain as much knowledge as possible.
The consolidation of the two facilities will be completed by April 30, 2021. Much of the equipment coming from Washington will remain in storage until the new facility is completed later this year and additional staff is currently being hired to replace the team members that will not continue their employment with the company.
While there may be some interruptions in PEM’s production schedule, they are working closely with customers to ensure any changes are minimal. “I’m collaborating with our customers to reduce the impact of this change as much as possible,” said Kevin Wolf, PEM’s Director of Sales. “For most the change will affect them very little, if at all.”
“I truly believe this consolidation, along with our renewed efforts to streamline our engineering and production processes, will allow us to be more agile and significantly improve our production times moving forward,” said Nathan. “These changes might pose some temporary difficulty, but the long-term benefits are worth it.”
Plastics Extrusion Machinery Inc. (PEM) is the leading U.S. manufacturer of downstream equipment for the PVC pipe and custom profile industries. PEM specializes in pipe belling machines, pipe and profile pullers, utility and travel saws, hydrostatic testing machines, pipe bundlers, and other downstream equipment. PEM’s core purpose is to serve humanity by enabling the manufacture of plastic materials that flows life-giving resources to our community and to the rest of the world, and that is what keeps us moving forward as an organization.