Ohio injection molder Edge Plastics plans $12.3M expansion

Injection molder Edge Plastics Inc. is planning a major expansion at its production site in Mansfield, Ohio.

Edge will invest $12.3 million in the expansion, which will cover about 36,000 square feet, company officials said. The project is expected to create 43 new jobs.

Mansfield City Council is scheduled to vote Feb. 2 on a 15-year property tax abatement for the expansion. Edge also is seeking a six-year Ohio Job Creation tax credit for the project, according to the report.

More than $9 million of the investment will be for new machinery and equipment. Almost $3 million will go for land acquisition and new construction, officials said. The expansion should be completed by the end of 2021.

In a Feb. 2 phone interview, owner Shelley Fisher thanked Edge’s customers for the added business that’s created the need for the expansion.

“We’ve expanded both our product line and our customer base,” she said.

Chief Operating Officer Mike Bradley said in the interview that Edge should break ground on the expansion the week of Feb. 8. The expansion will add on to an existing building and make room for 12 more injection molding machines, he added.

Edge currently occupies a 70,000-square-foot site. The firm was founded in 1975 as D&M Plastics by David and Marilyn Eckstein, Shelley Fisher’s parents.

David Eckstein sold HPM and Van Dorn injection molding machines in Ohio and nearby states before starting D&M, which later was renamed Edge, according to the company’s website. The firm initially molded bicycle seats, fixture handles and food containers.

Edge now makes a variety of storage containers on 25 injection molding machines. Its products are distributed by major retailers across the U.S. and Canada, including Target, Walmart, Lowe’s and Home Depot. Edge employs 78 and also operates a 150,000-square-foot distribution center in Mansfield.