Metal bearings and components maker Universal Bearings LLC is expanding into plastics with its acquisition of Precision Plastic & Die Co.

Universal Bearings, based in Bremen, Ind., purchased the assets of Ithaca, Mich.-based Precision Plastic and is taking over manufacturing there. It has retained the 12 employees in Ithaca, said David Ketcham, vice president of finance and administration, in an Aug. 3 telephone interview. The companies did not disclose a purchase price.

Universal uses some plastic as a retainer in a bearing product, but bought the material from an outside supplier, Ketcham said. Precision Plastic provides it with in-house capabilities in multiple materials which it can offer its existing customer base in automotive and commercial trucks, and also build on Precision’s wider customer base to diversify outside transportation.

Both companies have a similar history -– both founded in the 1950s and based in small towns, he said. Universal has been part of South Korea’s Hanwha L&C Co. Ltd. since 1991. It has about 250 employees in Bremen.

Precision Plastic, a custom molder of thermoplastics and thermoset material since 1955, has injection molding and compression molding and produces auto interior and auto transmission parts, but also has customers in the military and housewares industries.

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