Specified Fittings LLC is investing $1.8 million into a facility in Early Branch, S.C., where it will create 36 jobs for manufacturing plastic pipe fittings as it looks to expand further into international markets.
Founded in 1997, the PVC and high density polyethylene extruder is joining Nupi America Inc., which produces polypropylene pipes and fittings, in an existing building in an industrial park near ports in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga.
Specified Fittings officials say the business is one of the largest pure pipe fittings fabricators in North America with the headquarters and manufacturing operations in Bellingham, Wash.; a manufacturing plant in Stevensville, Mont., and regional warehouses throughout the United States.
South Carolina production is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2018. The facility will make HDPE pipe fittings, according to a news release from the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
Specified Fittings' HDPE products are used for drinking water, force main sewers and mining and industrial applications.
“As a Western-based manufacturer, we are grateful for the opportunity and eager to serve the eastern United States more efficiently. The port will allow us to expand into more foreign markets and grant us a greater vision for the future,” Specified Fittings CEO Tom Franzen said in the release.