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Utah-based National Vinyl Products has opened its manufacturing and distribution plant near Dover, bringing 90 jobs with it. | PHOTO COURTESY OF KEP[/caption]
CHESWOLD – A vinyl fencing manufacturing plant has opened in a former paint manufacturing plant, bringing several dozen more jobs than when it was first reported two months ago.
Maryland-based Shoreline Vinyl and Utah-based Duratec formed 1886 Dover LLC to acquire the more than 163,000-square-foot manufacturing plant site that sits off U.S. Route 13 in a $17.2 million project. The joint venture bought the 51-acre property at 1886 Lynnbury Woods Road north of Dover for $4.25 million in February, according to county land records.
Together, the companies will reportedly create 88 new jobs in Delaware while also relocating two positions. The Delaware Division of Small Business estimated that the economic impact for the project will total more than $30.7 million.
According to its application to Delaware’s taxpayer-funded Strategic Fund, the Duratec jobs include 10 managers, five engineers, and 59 laborers, although the salary ranges for those positions weren’t disclosed. Shoreline reported that it would hire one manager earning an estimated $35,000 a year and 15 laborers earning an $11 hourly wage.
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Utah-based National Vinyl Products has opened its manufacturing and distribution plant near Dover, bringing 90 jobs with it. | PHOTO COURTESY OF NVP[/caption]
The bulk of Duratec’s work is PVC extruding, or the manufacturing of different PVC components using dies, while Shoreline is a fabricator that prepares the PVC fencing pieces for installation through drilling and routing.
Duratec is a subsidiary of 19-year-old, family-owned and -operated National Vinyl Products (NVP), which has grown already in its home state. In 2018, it built a $7 million, 30,000-square-foot production facility in central Utah that doubled its capacity and expanded its product offerings.
Shoreline is a 17-year-old, family-owned and -operated company based in Caroline County, Md., west of Milford. Five years ago, it moved into a 91,000-square-foot building that allowed it to double its workforce that prepares products for sale in nine states.
“We’re very pleased to announce the opening of a new location in Dover,” said John David Hadfield, president of NVP, in a statement. “This is not only an opportunity to bring more jobs to the area, it offers access to resources, ideal transportation lines and allows us to further expand our manufacturing capabilities and meet the needs of the growing North American market.”
The site will also feature a third tenant, USA Fulfillment Inc., a Maryland-headquartered third-party logistics company that already has a Dover warehouse about 5 miles to the south of the Lynnbury Woods Road’s facility. It will employ 30 to 40 people at its space.
“This location works well for us, too,” said Jay Stamerro, USA Fulfillment general manager, in a statement. “Kent County is close to many of the markets we serve so it’s a great place for a warehouse and fulfillment center.”
A coordinated effort by Kent Economic Partnership and state and county government was able to land the project, officials said.
“NVP considered several other locations, including one in Maryland,” Kent Economic Partnership Executive Director Linda Parkowski said in a statement. “It was all-hands on deck and everyone we turned to for help in making this project happen was there when we needed them. From the governor, who reached out to National Vinyl Products, to the Division of Small Business who found USA Fulfillment as a tenant, to the Council on Development Finance which approved a bond and grants and Kent County Levy Court which provided additional funding, it was a team effort.”
On June 29, the project received the financial support of the state after the Council on Development Finance unanimously approved a $10 million conduit bond issuance that would aid the acquisition, renovation and outfitting of the new plant. The companies also received a combined $268,823 from the taxpayer-funded Strategic Fund to aid their capital investment in the project.
“This is a real win for Delaware and for Kent County,” Gov. John Carney said in a statement. “This brings back to the area many of what I call the ‘new old’ jobs that for years have helped Delaware families put food on the table, pay the mortgage and send their kids to college.”
The Kent County Levy Court will provide a $75,000 grant and a 10-year tax abatement for the project.
“This project will return key manufacturing jobs to the area,” Kent County Levy Court President P. Brooks Banta said in a statement. “Kent County is already home to a strong manufacturing base with a skilled workforce and companies such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz and Edgewell Personal Care, so we feel confident Duratec, Shoreline and USA Fulfillment will find this new location a great place to do business.”
By Jacob Owens
jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com
