ProtecPac of Lachine, Quebec, has opened its first stateside production facility, in Sydney, Ohio, where it is making products like polyethylene foam and air bubble cushioning.
The firm started production at a 100,000-square-foot, leased building in November, said General Manager Jan Willem Wieringa in a Nov. 30 telephone interview.
``We were already shipping to customers in Ohio from Montreal,'' he said. ``But with a growing volume of business from the Midwest, we wanted to be closer to our customers.''
Wieringa would not talk about the amount or brand of equipment installed at the location. He said the site has foam extrusion, bubble and lamination machines, corrugating equipment and all types of converting equipment. He also would not say how many people the firm employs.
The business will be headed by operations manager Bob Hooper, and business development managers Gary Fawkes in Detroit and Scott Myers in Chicago.
The firm has two-thirds of the floor space in Sydney with the option to take on the other third, Wieringa said.
When asked if there are chances ProtecPac will seek other stateside facilities, Wieringa said, ``We're closely looking at opportunities for our company.''
ProtecPac is held by Induspac Group, also of Montreal, which is owned by Paul Gaulin. According to the company's Web site, ProtecPac is expanding in the northeastern and midwestern United States.
Officials would not disclose sales data, but said ProtecPac business has more than doubled in the past few years. It operates one facility in Toronto and two in Montreal.
