By Michael Lauzon
CORRESPONDENT
Published: October 7, 2014 2:54 pm ET
Updated: October 7, 2014 2:59 pm ET
Image By: Lindar Corp.
The expansion at Lindar Corp. will provide it with capacity to make larger parts such as lawn and garden equipment.
Thermoformer Lindar Corp. is tackling larger parts business with a multimillion dollar investment.
The Baxter, Minn., company boosted its floor space by 27 percent to 154,000 square feet and installed a new Maac three-station rotary thermoformer in part of the recent 33,000-square-foot addition.
Compared with Lindar’s other thermoformers, the new Maac “has tighter tolerances and better control features,” said Lindar director of marketing Dave Fosse in a phone interview.
The new machine can handle extra-large plastic sheets and molds up to eight feet by six feet. Lindar operations manager Gordy Murphy said in a news release that the three-stage system allows production of higher quality products and improved efficiency. The machine also boosts production speed and reduces energy consumption.
“The additional capacity this machine provides will accommodate our customers’ growth and added capacity requirements,” Murphy explained. It will help “bring some of the newest product concepts and manufacturing methods to life.”
Lindar has been experiencing growth in all its markets but sales to OEMs and the food industry are among the strongest contributing to double-digit growth, according to Fosse. It has specialized in large parts for agricultural and lawn care equipment, recreational vehicles, machinery, consumer products and medical equipment. Among its consumer-oriented entries is a new domed cake tray which recently won a Society of Plastics Engineers thermoforming award.
Lindar completed installation of the new Maac unit in late July when its building addition was finished. It now runs 17 thermoforming lines, a mix of sheet-fed and roll-fed systems and can do heavy gauge, thin gauge and pressure forming processes. It employs about 125 and is logging annual sales of an estimated $20 million.
Two years ago Lindar bought Lakeland Mold Co., a thermoform mold builder and manufacturer of computer numerical control equipment in Brainerd, Minn. Lakeland, a sister company held by Lindar’s private ownership, operates as a stand-alone business. Lindar makes most of its own molds but sources outside in special circumstances. | 
