A plastics packaging producer based in Cyprus plans to establish a U.S. base in Donora, Pa.
Retal PA LLC intends to invest at least $15 million, or as much as $24 million, in the project. Retal PA plans to injection mold PET preforms and high density polyethylene caps for the beverage industry, Retal PA President and CEO Admir Dobraca said in an email correspondence. The firm plans to be production-ready by the beginning of November with shipments to start in early 2017, he added. The facility and budget for the new operation include plans to blow mold PET bottles at some time in 2017.
“Our research has revealed that the U.S. market has certain gaps that we can use to our advantage and successfully penetrate the market,” Dobraca stated in an email.
Retal Industries Ltd. of Cyprus is the parent company of Retal PA. The Retal name originated in Russia but through ownership changes the Retal name was adopted by the Cyprus-based business, Dobraca explained..Retal has no association with Russia except for subsidiaries serving markets in the country.
Retal bought a 143,000-square-foot facility in Donora in April for $4 million, according to a local newspaper report. The facility was a former Spartech Corp. plastics compounding plant that was closed a few years ago after PolyOne Corp. bought Spartech. Retal reportedly has a contract from an unidentified U.S. company that begins in October.
“Establishment of a new regional headquarters is a massive undertaking for any company,” noted Dobraca in a news release issued Aug. 30.
“We are excited to report that our progress thus far has been substantial. We couldn't be more pleased with the location we've carefully selected in Pennsylvania and with the generous assistance we received from [Pennsylvania] and the support from the local community, the county and the greater Pittsburgh area in general. We have great plans for this site and hope that this is the beginning of a much larger venture.”
Dobraca indicated marketing efforts have been promising and demand for the company's products has exceeded expectations.
”We have been leveraging our global footprint in conjunction with our global partners in an effort to fill the need for innovative and high quality products,” he said in an email.
The Donora operation will employ 88 over the next three years.
The Retal PA project is the first one announced for the region since Shell Appalachia LLC said in June that it wants to build an ethylene/polyethylene complex near Monaca, Pa.