Engineered Profiles LLC is investing $4 million to retrofit an old Dow Chemical Co. Ethafoam extrusion facility near Ironton, Ohio, that will become its second plant.
Within the next five years, the company expects to create 55 jobs there with a payroll totaling $2.2 million.
During that same period, Engineered Profiles plans to purchase 10-12 extrusion lines for the 93,000-square-foot building in the tiny village of Hanging Rock, Ohio. The town is on the Ohio River just west of Ironton.
The company expects to begin production in January at the plant, which is some 100 miles south of Engineered Profiles' plant in Columbus, Ohio. Given the distance, the town's population of only about 200 people and the fact that, these days, its biggest claim to fame is being known as a speed trap, why did the company choose Hanging Rock?
"The location was strategic for our needs and the building well-suited to set up our operation quickly," Matt Fenneman, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a Nov. 11 email. "The state of Ohio and Lawrence County were both helpful in our decision process."
He did not disclose details about what incentives might have been offered, but said the expansion is needed to meet "tremendous demand" for Engineering Profiles' products, which are used in markets including building products, transportation, HVAC, energy and agriculture.
The company, which employs 350 people, also offers design, tooling, raw material sourcing and fabrication services. It was known as Crane Plastics LLC until 2009, when it was merged into a single entity with siblings CPC Tooling, Crane Building Products, Crane Blending and Profile Solutions Industries.
Today, Engineered Profiles operates 42 extrusion lines in its 350,000-square-foot Columbus plant. "We will finish 2021 with sales over $80 million," Fenneman noted.