Injection molder Rehrig Pacific Co. of Vernon, Calif., is building an eighth manufacturing site. De Soto, Kan., officials issued Rehrig Pacific a building permit April 11 for construction of an 82,000-square-foot facility valued at $5.3 million.
The firm makes collapsible and returnable plastic crates, trays, carts, bins and pallets for agricultural, bakery, soft drink, dairy, environmental and material-handling applications. The company withheld comment on plans for the new plant.
Building plans call for about 35,000 square feet each for manufacturing and warehousing, and the remainder for offices. The company indicated to city officials it plans to employ 130 at the site.
A unit, Rehrig Properties II, acquired the 17 acres Jan. 28 from Boyer Properties of Kansas City, Kan., according to Johnson County records.
The De Soto site sits within an emerging economic development corridor between greater Kansas City and Lawrence, Kan., where the University of Kansas is located. Public agencies and private vested interests have supported corridor-related construction of more than 2 million square feet worth $233 million during the past two years, according to the Lawrence-based K-10 Association Inc.
Family-owned Rehrig Pacific acquired a Tracy, Calif., industrial building in August and upgraded its infrastructure for plastics processing. Other facilities are in Vernon; Erie, Pa.; Lawrenceville, Ga.; Dallas; Raymond, N.H.; and Pleasant Prairie, Wis.
