Earlier this year, Premix Group, a Finnish-based producer of electrically conductive plastics, opened a new manufacturing facility in Apple Creek, Dallas, North Carolina, supported by a $79 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense and Health and Human Services.

A press release said that while there are American companies capable of producing plastics, the $79 million contract was issued primarily because its specialized electrically conductive plastics meet stringent technical requirements for critical diagnostic applications—something that was found lacking or under-capacity in the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many U.S.-based companies do manufacture general-use polymer compounds, but few offer the exact grades, quality, and scale needed for highly sensitive components like pipette tips used in mass medical and laboratory testing.

“By awarding the contract to a European supplier with proven reliability, the U.S. government is ensuring rapid technology transfer, risk mitigation, and supply chain resilience for essential health infrastructure,” the release said. Construction began in 2022 and the new facility now produces advanced PE and PP-based compounds and concentrates.