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Aug 27th, 2008                                Print this article

Additives: A. Schulman adds manufacturing capacity in Akron

By Tony Deligio

Custom compounder A. Schulman Inc. (Akron, OH) is expanding its North American production of a line of specialized additives for polypropylene (PP), film, extrusion, injection molding, and thermoforming applications, with a new plant at the site of its existing Akron distribution warehouse. The company’s Polybatch line primarily targets the packaging market, with the expansion boosted by financial incentives from the city of Akron, Summit County, and the state of Ohio. A. Schulman expects the facility to provide approximately 20 new jobs at startup, with roughly 60 additional positions within the next few years as production increases.

The warehouse that will be converted to manufacturing actually served as the company’s original production site when it opened in 1929. Since November 2000, it has acted as a warehouse, and some distribution will continue to occur from there. The company said that since most of the required infrastructure is already in place, it expects the conversion to be quick, with manufacturing initiating by this October.—tdeligio@modplas.com

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