The Woodstock Independent: FLOCON Quadruples Capacity

10.06.2020

The 125-person company manufactures fluid dispensing systems: the devices that dispense sealing liquids to close the gaps in an airplane’s fuel tanks; the paint markers that factories use to identify parts and assemblies; 85 percent of the touch-up paints for automobiles in North America; the rainbow of brown markers that mask dings on furniture; and now critically, the fine-mist dispensers for hand sanitizer.In the personal care segment of its business – including the containers for insect repellent, hand sanitizer, and eyeglass and sunglass cleaners – Flocon has quadrupled capacity, added new tooling, and put another shift to work, Ballot said, and can’t keep up with the demand.

After a record 2019 and equally strong first quarter, Flocon saw sales soften in April, notably decline in May, massively drop off in June, start to recover in July, and draw even with the previous year in August, albeit with a significantly different mix of products, Ballot said.

Through the tumult, Flocon held onto the entirety of its staff and refrained from applying for Paycheck Protection Program funds, Ballot said.

In December, Flocon opened a 57,000-square foot pilot plant with a machine shop and injection molding equipment to take products from prototype to production. That plant currently runs 19 hours a day, a figure the company wants to expand to 24 hours a day.

To read the full story, click on the following link: https://www.thewoodstockindependent.com/2020/09/challenge-is-to-find-workers/