September
2008 Morristown, Tennessee - Double
H Plastics, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer, will spend approximately
$14.5 million to begin production in the former Shelby Williams
plant, an initiative that will create approximately 50 jobs, a company
official announced.
"We're looking forward to getting in there
and getting started," said David Harp, Vice President of Production.
"We will be looking for workforce. We already have feelers
out in the area."
The family-owned business will be manufacturing
plastic cores that can be used in cash register tapes and other
applications. Harp said the Double H company decided to expand production
in Tennessee because two of the companies it supplies to are located
in the area.
Harp says the former Shelby Williams plant, which
is located in the East Tennessee Valley Industrial District in east
Morristown, has enough space to accommodate additional production
if the opportunity arises.
The company vice-president says that renovations
of the existing building are scheduled to begin soon as Double H
closes on the property. Harp says he hopes to begin production by
the end of December.
Double H has approximately 225 employees in Warminster,
Pennsylvania and another 115 workers in Marion, Indiana. Production
at those facilities will remain unchanged, according to Harp.
The plant is slated to have 10 extrusion lines
and 60 molding machines, according to Jeff Branham, Morristown's
City Engineer. Harp says that he'll be looking for extrusion operators
and mechanics to work for four production shifts.
The Morristown City Council is scheduled to apply
for a $250,000 FastTrack Industrial Infrastructure grant on Double
H's behalf. The money would be used to upgrade the rail spur to
the plant and build material storage silos, according to Buddy Fielder,
Morristown Assistant City Administrator. If approved, state government
would pay for 74% of the upgrade. Double H would be responsible
for the remaining 26%. City government will apply for the grant,
but will not pay for any of the match.
Harp says that for the first year that Double H
is in production, it will receive its plastic raw materials in tractor-trailer
rigs until the rail spur is improved.
For more information please visit www.doublehplastics.com.
