Israeli housewares molder Starplast Industries Ltd. is setting up its second factory in the United States, a $17.7 million investment in Virginia that the company said will create 300 jobs over five years.
A Dec. 21 announcement from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said the company is building a manufacturing plant in Chesterfield, a suburb of Richmond. In 2018, the company opened its first U.S. factory, a 181,000-square-foot facility in Houston.
"Starplast chose Chesterfield County for its new manufacturing operation because the geographic location is very attractive, especially given its proximity to the East Coast and the Port of Virginia," CEO Danny Schwartz said in a statement distributed by Northam's office. "Additionally, Virginia — and in particular the Richmond area — has a strong workforce with readily available talent."
The Haifa, Israel-based company makes products like laundry hampers, food storage and kitchen bins and garden deck boxes. The state government announcement did not give a timeline for the factory.
According to its website, the company was founded in 1967. Since entering global markets in 1976, Starplast has exported 90 percent of its production to Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.
It started manufacturing at a subcontractor's facility in the United States in 2011 and has about 550 employees globally, it said.
Northam's news release said Starplast also considered Ohio and Pennsylvania for the project. The Starplast contact listed on announcement did not respond to an email.
In 2011, the company told Plastics News that it was the second-largest injection molding company in Israel, with 110 presses.