Quanex Building Products has announced a major investment in its Mikron brand of PVC-U window and door profiles in the form of new extrusion equipment at its Kent, Washington, facility.
The advanced manufacturing lines are sourced from Extrunet, an Austria-based company specialising in extrusion technology. Quanex anticipates that the new lines will be fully operational by early 2020. Once complete, Quanex claims that the facility will be one of the most advanced extrusion operations in North America.
“We’re making this investment because we fully believe in Mikron and its continued success,” said Bob Daniels, president, North American Fenestration, Quanex Building Products. “By driving new efficiency in our manufacturing capabilities, our customers will experience the benefits firsthand in the form of improved production stability and overall customer experience.”
The new lines are fully digitised, which according to Quanex, will enable the production team to have ‘unprecedented insight’ into relevant data and analytics to help drive manufacturing efficiencies. Quanex says that it will ‘continuously pursue’ Industry 4.0 manufacturing strategies that this new equipment enables.
Quanex says it has already enjoyed the benefits from Extrunet equipment and the company’s expertise and support as a supplier. HL Plastics, a Quanex company and manufacturer of Liniar products, utilises Extrunet lines at its Derbyshire plant.
“This is also an investment in our people,” Daniels continued. “The new equipment will be first and foremost safer, easier to work with, featuring cleaner, quieter and more sustainable operations for an improved plant floor environment.”
The investment is made in conjunction with the formation of Quanex’s North American Fenestration Group, which unites each of its trusted brands, including Mikron, Homeshield and IG Systems, to meet the needs of fenestration professionals everywhere.
