SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : Mold-Making Firm in Anaheim Merges With Competitor

Hoping that increased size will help it thrive in a competitive market, Southern Plastic Mold Inc. of Anaheim is merging with Bace Plastics Group Inc., a Denver-based competitor, in a stock transaction.

In the deal, the private companies will merge their balance sheets and top management. Southern Plastic Mold executives will own 50% to 60% in the combined company and the rest will be held by Bace executives.

The new Anaheim-based company, which will be operate under the name Bace Plastics Group, expects to have $46.5 million in sales for 1991. It will have 450 employees, including 275 in Anaheim.

Michael K. Noggle, founder and president of Southern Plastic Mold, will serve as president and chief executive of the new company. The company will continue to operate divisions in Fremont, Anaheim, and Longmont, Colo.

“This merger will give us critical mass to obtain credit and compete in this industry,” said Charles P. Finkbiner, senior vice president of business development.

Finkbiner said the company plans to expand in Anaheim, where it has about 75,000 square feet of space and makes plastic molds for a variety of consumer products, such as the plastic housing for Compaq personal computers and credit cards with holograms, which are three-dimensional images that make counterfeiting difficult.

He said the company plans to invest $3 million to $4 million in new equipment and will move into a building with twice the current space in Anaheim.

“Other manufacturers are pulling out of the state, but we’re making a statement that we’re committing to manufacturing in California,” Finkbiner said.

In contrast to studies showing that many companies are fleeing the region, a survey of more than 850 Orange County firms in October showed that nine out of 10 will remain in the county when the time comes to renew their leases or sell their buildings.

The research was conducted by Scher-Voit Commercial Brokerage Co.’s Anaheim and Irvine offices.