FRIMO to Open New $5 Million Technology Center in North America

WIXOM, Mich., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- FRIMO Inc., a division of the FRIMO Group – one of the worldwide leading providers of manufacturing systems for high-quality plastic components for the automotive and other industries – is opening a new TechCenter within its North American headquarters in Wixom, Mich.

The new FRIMO, Inc. TechCenter, which becomes fully operational in September, is a state-of-the-art customer support facility designed to meet the demands of the company's automotive interior customers and customers in other industries. It is the only center of its kind in North America.

"We are thrilled to announce this expansion and to offer our customers a one-stop-shop that features an ever-expanding range of interior prototype and production services," said Jeff Daily, president and CEO of FRIMO Inc. "No other tooling and equipment supplier offers this breadth of services and technologies for its customers in one place in North America."

The TechCenter is also a further milestone within FRIMO's worldwide strategy of providing its customers with a full range of technologies, products and services from one company.

In Europe, FRIMO operates four fully equipped TechCenter facilities focused on special technologies and offering expertise and technical resources through the entire value chain. One of these centers, located in Lotte, Germany, has recently expanded and will be the largest of FRIMO's TechCenters in Europe.  A formal opening is scheduled in September. With the possibility to offer all technologies for the manufacture of Class A interior surfaces, this new FRIMO TechCenter is unique to the European market.

Another facility is under construction at the FRIMO site in Shanghai to bring these same benefits to both Chinese and Asian customers.

FRIMO customers in North America include Automotive Components Holdings (ACH), BMW, Chrysler, CPK Interior Products, Daimler, Draxlmaier, Faurecia, Ford, GM, General Electric (GE), Honda, Hyundai, International Automotive Components (IAC), Intertec, Inteva, Johnson Controls, Lear, Magna, Mahindra, Mayco International, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Polaris, Seton, Toyoda Boshoku, Toyota and Volkswagen among others.

Quick, flexible and cost-effective

The new FRIMO, Inc. TechCenter will provide tooling and production facilities for a complete range of processes used to develop interior products such as instrument panels, door trim, consoles, headliners, seats, headrests and more. Technologies on site will include rapid prototyping, polyurethane processing, thermoforming, laminating, edgefolding, right through to flexible trimming, scoring, punching, and joining/adhesive bonding of plastics.

The new center hosts an array of specialized equipment, including a state-of-the-art PUReLine polyurethane spray system as well as polyurethane rigid and semi-flexible foam-in-place metering equipment and tooling; FlexTrim router process equipment and fixturing; invisible air bag scoring equipment and fixturing; EcoForm and VarioForm thermoforming machinery and tooling; JoinLine infrared welding equipment and more. It also features two secure trial test bays for customers to run pre-production prototypes to ensure confidential, quick and trouble-free launches.

The TechCenter is managed by Lee Hodson, who recently joined FRIMO Inc. as Director of Advanced Development, and is staffed by 15 engineers, process technicians and customer support personnel.

Save the date – Grand opening TechCenter at FRIMO Inc. in Wixom

FRIMO, Inc. plans on officially marking the opening of the center with a customer event at its headquarters, located at 50685 Century Court in Wixom, Mich., on October 7, 2010.

The program will comprise of an opening ceremony as well as a plant tour, a broad range of technical presentations and live product demonstrations.

About FRIMO Inc.

Established in 1990, FRIMO Inc. is based in Wixom, Mich., at a state-of-the-art customer support and manufacturing facility that serves as the FRIMO Group's North American competence center. The company also operates a facility in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Offering the industry's broadest range of technologies, products and services, FRIMO's advanced trim production systems are used by global Tier 1 automotive interior suppliers to manufacture products for virtually every major automobile brand. Currently, FRIMO equipment and tooling is used in the production of various components found on a majority of vehicles produced in North America.

About the FRIMO Group

FRIMO (www.frimo.com) is a leading partner of the plastics processing industry with worldwide production facilities and sales offices, as well as a number of international representatives. With 1,200 employees throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and headquarters in Lotte, Germany near Osnabruck, FRIMO earned an annual turnover of more than $200 million in 2009.

FRIMO companies are well-known for outstanding quality and have been awarded by the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) 15 times.

FRIMO uses its comprehensive technology portfolio to implement innovative and efficient system solutions along the entire value chain. The company's expertise ranges from pre-engineering consultation in the development phase for manufacturing-compatible components to the design, engineering and build of manufacturing systems. In addition, FRIMO offers a full range of after sales services including production launch support, production process optimization consulting and preventative maintenance programs for its complete line of products.

SOURCE FRIMO