Arnco's Ohio Plant Exceeds Production Projections

Enlarge Image Arnco's Ohio plant significantly expanded plant output.

September 27, 2006 • One year after opening a major processing plant in Berea, Ohio, Arnco. South Gate, Calif., announced it has significantly expanded the plant's production output and is more than 25% ahead of projections in helping to meet a growing worldwide demand for polyurethane flatproofing products that extend the life of tires.

           

“Equipment operators are doing everything they can to get more wear from their tires because of the severe tire shortage, and we would not be able to meet this increased demand for flatproofing if we had not opened the Berea facility last July,” said Larry Carapellotti, president of Arnco.

           

Enlarge Image Arnco opened its 112,000 square-foot facility last July.

According to vice president of Operations Joe Negrey, the 112,000 square-foot facility in Berea has produced more than 50 million pounds of polyurethane products in the last year but is not close to full capacity. “There is still a lot of work to be done,” Negrey said, “but we are very pleased with the results thus far.”

           

Because the new plant is operating at such a high level of efficiency, Negrey said Arnco has been able to move a considerable amount of production from its plant in California to Berea where shipping costs are lower. He added that Arnco's Performance Polymers Group is using the freed-up space in California to meet demand for its high performance urethanes, spray elastomers, molding compounds, foams, cast elastomers, and primers.