Mar-Bal Inc., a custom molder and compounder of thermosetting resins, is investing $3.7 million to expand an existing plant in Missouri and open a new plant, its third, in Virginia. Mar-Bal President Jim Balogh said the company is gearing up to handle growing business from its existing customer base and expected new customers.
Sales in 1995 should exceed last year's total of $15 million, he said.
At its Cuba, Mo., plant, Mar-Bal is adding an attached 15,000-square-foot building to its existing 41,000-square-foot plant. The $1.2 million expansion is currently under way.
The new plant will be located in Dublin, Va., in an existing 55,000-square-foot industrial building sited on 140 acres. The Virginia location satisfies a long-standing goal of Mar-Bal to expand into the Southeast, Balogh said.
``We just want to be closer to our customers and potential new customers,'' according to Balogh.
The new plant should initially employ some 25-35 people when it begins operation next year, Balogh said. He said he hopes to increase employment eventually to about 100 people in Virginia, mirroring the growth of the 6-year-old Mar-Bal facility in Missouri.
The company also has a 56,000-square-foot plant in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where its headquarters are located.
Mar-Bal produces a wide range of custom-molded products from bulk molding compound, a glass-filled polyester.
A number of processes are used, including injection, compression and transfer molding.
The company, with employment of nearly 200 people, active in the electrical, appliance, transportation and marine markets.
In the electrical market, for example, Mar-Bal molds parts which are used as insulating materials and for structural reinforcement.
