Deceuninck North America LLC of Monroe, Ohio, is gearing up to double its capacity for composite rail and decking products.
The newly renamed profile extruder - formerly Dayton Technologies LLC - teamed up with Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Home Exteriors Inc. in 2003 to tackle the burgeoning market for composite products. Alcoa markets the product - boards extruded from a formulation of high density polyethylene and wood fiber - as Oasis.
Deceuninck converted existing space in Monroe to accommodate production. The space will host six extrusion lines that will be operational by March, officials said. The plant has space for 18 lines.
``It's gone very well,'' Alcoa President Gary Acinapura said in a Jan. 13 interview at the International Builders' Show in Orlando. ``This is a product line that we always have to stay out in front of because the growth curve is explosive. So a lot of companies are starting up; they put one or two lines in, and before they know it, they're under water and they can't respond fast enough. So we're trying to stay out in front of the capacity.''
Roughly two months ago, the firms developed a national program with Weyerhaeuser Co. of Tacoma, Wash., to distribute Oasis through Weyerhaeuser's lumberyard business.
``So there's, I believe, close to 40 locations now that will be stocking our program around the country,'' Acinapura said.
Deceuninck began operating its Dayton Technologies and Vinyl Building Products units as Deceuninck North America on Jan. 1. Deceuninck will keep those company names as brand names in the marketplace, according to John Jurcak, vice president of marketing and product development.
Darwin Brown, who retired as Deceuninck chief executive office in February 2004, has returned to serve as interim CEO of Deceuninck North America. The company hopes to fill the position permanently in the next 12-24 months.
Deceuninck officials declined to comment on the number of employees to be added as part of the expansion.
``We plan to periodically add capacity until the plant is full,'' Mike Hutfless, chief operating officer of Deceuninck North America, wrote in a Jan. 19 e-mail.
``At this time, we are not commenting on the number of employees, although it is clear that positions will be added as the plant grows,'' he said.
