Plastic foam extruder Nomaco Inc. officially opened a plant Aug. 16 in Oklahoma City.
The plant began production, mainly of bedding products, in July, said Nomaco spokeswoman Allison Stroud. Nomaco now employs about 70 in the 314,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility.
The firm plans to expand the Oklahoma City business, President Julian Young said in a news release. The plant is Nomaco's fourth. Its other plants are in North Carolina. Young was unavailable for comment.
``The Oklahoma site enables us to become more geographically diverse,'' Nomaco Chairman Marc Noel said in a news release. ``We are now better able to meet the demands of customers in the western half of the country.''
Nomaco, based in Zebulon, N.C., makes polyolefin foams for home furnishings, recreation, packaging, agriculture, marine and construction. Company officials said they chose Oklahoma City for the plant because of its central location, business-friendly environment and worker availability.
Among Nomaco's best-known products are Oodles swim noodles toys, colorful, light-weight foam floats. One of its affiliates, Nomaco K-Flex LLC, makes elastomeric and polyolefin insulation products in Youngsville, N.C. Another, Focal Point Architectural Products Inc. of Tarboro, N.C., makes polyurethane architectural moldings. NMC SA of Raeren, Belgium, produces foam products and moldings in Europe. Nomacorc LLC of Zebulon coextrudes elastomers for cork-replacement bottle closures for wine and liquor. Together, Nomaco and its affiliates employ about 1,000.