Having completed a $4 million expansion at its Charlotte, North Carolina facility last year, INX International Ink Company recently concluded finishing touches connected to the project. Company officials added that the Charlotte plant set a new production record in 2016, and are hopeful 2017 will be another record-breaking year. The Charlotte plant produces two-piece metal decorating inks for customers in North America, South America and Asia – and to support its U.K. manufacturing facility in Europe. The 23,000-square-foot building addition brings the total area to 65,000 square-feet, creating much needed warehouse and dock space, and more room for INX’s manufacturing engineering, maintenance and administrative offices.
“We spent several months having our Charlotte team make a smooth transition. The expansion allowed us to free up additional space in the original building for current and future manufacturing projects to support our metal customers – and be in a position to support other product lines,” said Rick Clendenning, President and CEO of INX International Ink Company.
Customer demand in recent years increased production levels and pushed the facility beyond its intended capacity, said John Hrdlick, Chief Operating Officer for INX. “When the original building was constructed in 2004, it was designed to handle annual production of 9.5 million pounds. Our production levels have risen steadily since 2009, when annual production was at 11.9 million pounds. Last year it exceeded 16 million pounds.”
Hrdlick indicated that ongoing adjustments were made through the years to continue to achieve production levels. He said the expansion now allows everything to be done under one roof. “We added equipment over the years and have been running 24/7 for some time with four crew shifts, so job growth has been significant. To compensate for the prior lack of space, we rented an off-site warehouse since 2010. The expansion eliminates this need and cost, and having adequate space on-site for safety stocks, improves service to our customers. The additional dock space allows us to stage shipments in a more efficient and timely manner. Going forward, maintaining our equipment and working on new projects will be critical. We now have adequate room dedicated to those activities.”
INX expansion to impact production on four continents
