Nephi, Utah-based National Vinyl Products is investing $20 million into a former paint plant in Dover, Del., where it will create 100 jobs as it doubles production capacity for fence and railing while also meeting demand in the east.
Founded in 2001, the family-owned business extrudes profiles for fabricators, distributors and contractors across North America, including Denton, Md.-based Shoreline Vinyl Inc., which is about 30 miles from NVP's new Dover facility.
NVP had been seeing sales increase for products that enhance outdoor spaces for about five years and then the pandemic made the backyard an even more popular place to be, Chief Operating Officer Zack Clark told Plastics News in a phone interview.
"People aren't going on vacation as much and they're making their space an outdoor oasis," Clark said. "Outdoor living areas are now a bigger part of our life than ever before."
Plans to expand to the east actually began about one and a half years ago in a move to keep up with steady sales growth, which is forecast to reach $65 million to $70 million in 2020, according to Clark. NVP had doubled its capacity with a new 30,000-square-foot production facility in central Utah in 2017, but that space wasn't enough and it was still taking a long time to ship products to East Coast customers like Shoreline.
Founded in 2003, Shoreline is a family-owned company that sells vinyl fencing, railing, decking, arbors and pergolas. The company's industry partners include Veka Outdoor Living Products, Nationwide Industries and LMT Mercer Group Inc. in addition to NVP.
"NVP has customers from coast to coast and Shoreline is one that does a lot of business in the mid-Atlantic area," Clark said. "But for those in the east, it was four to five days transportation coming out of Nephi, Utah. Now we're a lot closer to everybody."
To grow again near a large customer base, NVP invested $20 million to buy a 200,000-square-foot building on a 51-acre site in Dover. NVP will use about half the space for production. Three extrusion lines are running and another three to five lines should be producing a range of profiles by the end of the year, Clark said.
"Privacy fence is still 70-75 percent of what we make, and white and tan are probably 70 percent of that, but we're seeing huge growth with our 12 wood grain colors," Clark said. "I think some of the wood pricing and shortage of wood this year has contributed to that."
NVP has a tenant doing fulfillment work for an online retailer in the front part of the facility.
"They have been really busy during the pandemic as well," Clark said.
The facility previously housed PPG Architectural Coatings and employed 65 people manufacturing interior and exterior paints, stains, caulks and adhesives and sealants for homeowners and professionals.
The facility had been in operation for 43 years before closing in 2019 as part of PPG's plan to optimize its supply chain footprint.
Now NVP is growing its national footprint. The company has hired about 40 workers in Dover and will bring on another 40-60 employees as more extrusion lines are added.
NVP's Utah site has 17 extrusion lines and 180 employees.