Plastic shapes producer and distributor Ensinger Inc. is considering building a new headquarters near its current one in Washington, Pa.
Ensinger and Chapman Properties, owner of the parcel of land being eyed by Ensinger, met with North Strabane Township planning officials Jan. 8. They are requesting a rezoning of the land Ensinger is interested in to allow for light industry.
Chapman Properties President Tony Rosenberger said in a phone interview that planning officials will hold another meeting Feb. 3 after they have studied the rezoning application. Assuming they agree to the proposal, they would present it to the planning board of supervisors a few weeks later.
Rosenberger said he hopes construction will begin in late spring or early summer. Ensinger is interested in a 32-acre portion of the 153-acre lot owned by Chapman on Racetrack Road. Ensinger's headquarters now is on Meadowlands Boulevard.
“We have a solid commitment from them,” Rosenberger said. A local news report indicated Ensinger had been looking for a new headquarters location for several years.
Ensinger is pondering construction of a 250,000-square-foot facility that could cost $30 million to $40 million. Employment, now about 140 in Washington, could grow to 200, company representative Dan Bertovich told the planning meeting.
Ensinger did not respond to requests for more information.
Ensinger consolidated its cast nylon 6 operations about a year ago, moving equipment from Washington to Grenloch, N.J. The firm's stock shapes division based in Washington also does compression molding in Houston and injection molding in Putnam, Conn. Ensinger also has a building products group that makes commercial window profiles from glass-filled nylon.
The U.S. Ensinger business is a subsidiary of Ensinger GmbH of Nufringen, Germany, which runs 28 plants and sales locations around the world employing about 2,200.