This week, United Wire Company broke ground on an expansion project planned for completion in Q1 of 2024.
This project will include a 5,000 square foot addition of the current building which will be used to accommodate a state-of-the-art, three-stand wire shaping mill, custom built by FENN of East Berlin, CT. The mill will be contained in a “clean room” and is designed to manufacture specialty shaped medical wire. The decision comes after United Wire saw significant demand for another player within the medical wire space.
Bob Swanson, United Wire President commented, “Our whole business is rooted in manufacturing custom shaped wire that is designed to meet the unique requirements of each customer we work with,” said Swanson. “The new space and the equipment it will house will be essential to expanding our product capabilities, helping to better serve existing customers while also opening up opportunities to accommodate new customers.” The new equipment will be capable of creating flat and rectangle wire as small as .002” x .005” with tolerances as tight as +/-.0001. It will use a non-contact optical gauge with precision servo motor dimensional monitoring and control. The machine will also include a precision traversing spool take-up that will have the flexibility to handle the customer’s desired spool size. These aspects will be essential to creating the high caliber medical wire that the industry expects.
When it came to equipment selection, Swanson felt FENN was a natural choice: United Wire’s current operation runs exclusively with FENN equipment procured over the years. “FENN has an excellent reputation as a custom metal forming machinery builder, and we’re glad to support another Connecticut based manufacturer as part of our growth & expansion process,” said Swanson. “Supporting and helping one another grow is what we’re all about.”
United Wire was founded nearly 30 years ago by Bob Swanson’s grandfather, Edward E. “Bud” Laird who had spent decades in the wire forming industry prior to the company’s founding. Today, the company is led by Swanson, with his two brothers and cousin serving key roles in leadership including production, quality and engineering. “We’re very proud to have the third generation of our family continuing our grandfather’s legacy. I know he would be proud to see the company he started so many years ago continuing to thrive and help customers across the globe.” said Swanson.
