From:Plastics News

Hayco Manufacturing officials break ground on a new injection molding plant in the Dominican Republic.  (Hayco Manufacturing Ltd.)

Seeking to slash shipment times to the United States and Europe, Hong Kong household products manufacturer Hayco Manufacturing Ltd. has begun work on a plant in the Dominican Republic to make injection molded components and consumer goods.

The plant, called by the company “an important milestone” for its push into the American and European markets, will be Hayco’s first outside China and one of the biggest built by a Hong Kong company in the Dominican Republic.

“Shipping to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic takes around three to six days, depending on ports, compared to the 18 days it takes to ship our products from China,” said company founder and Chairman Donald Hay.

“Most importantly, order-to-delivery lead times are around two weeks in the Dominican Republic compared to the current six weeks for China manufactured products to the U.S.,” Hay said.

Shipment can be made to Europe in 16 days, compared to 34 days from China, Hay said.

Quick shipments are a key to success for Hayco, which makes electric toothbrushes, household cleaning items, personal care items and other goods in the fast-moving consumer goods category. Key customers include Philips, Target, Wal-Mart and 3M.

Hayco will develop the 527,000-square-foot site in the Las Americas Free Zone Park in Santo Domingo in two stages. A 186,000-square-foot facility will open in 2017, followed by a 129,000-square-foot facility in 2021. When fully operational, the two facilities will employ 1,500 to 2,000.

The company said it will be spending up to $50 million over three years to develop the plant.

Hayco considered several other countries but chose the Dominican Republic because it is close to the United States and its free-trade-zone status means that the company is exempt from import and export duties, the company said.

The plant’s first customer will be longstanding customer Procter & Gamble Co.

“The Las Americas plant will therefore become a plastics technology leader in the Latin American region, not only providing employment but also transferring valuable skills to local people,” said Hayco CEO Christopher Hay.

Founded in 1983, Hayco has more than 4,500 workers at its three factories in southern China. It produces 135 million household and industrial products annually. Its services include design, mold making, injection molding, assembly, quality assurance and shipping. The company traces its roots back to 1893, when William Hay founded the South Australian
Brush Co.