To meet exploding demand for ISO-certified cleanroom plastic packaging – used in such industries as medical, tech and aeronautics – Cleanroom Film & Bags (CFB), a division of C-P Flexible Packaging, opened a brand-new state-of-the-art facility in Placentia earlier this year.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, C-P Flexible Packaging CEO Michael Hoffman said the move would help CFB serve a growing customer base while staying true to its commitment to being 100 percent American-made.
The expansion has nearly doubled the company’s manufacturing capabilities, said CFB President and General Manager Jaime Read.
Already a leader in the cleanroom packaging space, CFB will now be able to provide more product and faster lead times along with continued excellence in quality control and service, she said. “We can bring solutions to this space quicker and better than any of our competitors.”
While the COVID-19 epidemic increased demand for the type of sterile plastics used in medical packaging, CFB’s expanded facilities also allow it to further develop nylon products, said Aung Zeya, Director of Business Development.
Since nylon is nearly frictionless, it is in great demand for semiconductor storage and shipping – making CFB’s California location ideal.
“We feel that Southern California is a hub for the tech-savvy industry,” Read said. “A lot of employers are finding themselves driven out of California, but we’re doing the exact opposite. We are driving the labor expansion here where a lot of people are not.”
Read said that CFB’s family-company dynamic is essential to recruiting and retaining employees. “People are our most important asset,” she said. “They're important, their story is important, their life is important.
Hoffman said that when he was looking to acquire CFB last year, the company’s team was a big selling point.
“The talent that we have here – in the engineering group, in the manufacturing group – I can say honestly that this by far is the most talented team that we have in the company,” he said. “I always say to my team: Anyone can buy a machine, anyone can buy an extruder, anyone can buy a converting machine. It's the people that make the difference.”
At the grand opening, Hoffman emphasized the company’s commitment to sustainability. Pointing to the facility’s roof, he said, “You can’t see it right now, but that roof is covered with solar panels.
“So this factory has solar power generating it, and that's our responsibility to the environment,” he said. “In fact, our goal now by 2025 is to have 50% of all our factories across the nation solar powered.”
All of CFB’s products are 100% recyclable, said Hoffman, and 100% of its scrap is put back into other products. And the company’s vertical integration – meaning the extruders are housed in the same facility as the converters – means that plastic film doesn’t have to be transported back and forth on trucks.
“Sustainability is truly near and dear to our heart as responsible corporate citizens,” Hoffman said. “That’s really important to us.”
