Multi-national Carpenter Company celebrated the opening of its 90,000-square foot building in Antis Township at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.
Carpenter’s Antis plant, which opened in 1992, is part of the company’s consumer division. The Virginia-based company has been in operation for more than 50 years and is a manufacturer of polyurethane foam, processed polyester fiber, and many other types of related products that are used in carpeting, sofas and bedding.
“We are most excited about moving in and getting started,” said Dick Davidson, Carpenter’s vice president of manufacturing. “We had badly outgrown the existing facility (and) had been forced to rent space in town. We had been doing a lot of hauling of goods (that) was very costly and very time consuming. Getting this open is certainly streamlining the operation and I think is building a big future for us.”
Davidson said the company had already hired more workers prior to the completion of the expansion project, in anticipation of increased production. The company’s local operations began with less than 40 employees in the early nineties. Davidson said the Antis plant now has 163 full-time employees and 10 people working part-time that could eventually move to full-time. He said further hiring would bring employment to more than 200.
Davidson said the idea for expansion had been in the works since the beginning of 2004. Work on the project started late last year.
General manager and eastern regional manager John Farnham said the company had a choice to make regarding two locations that were in the running for expansion. In addition to the Antis plant, the company’s operations in Hickory, North Carolina were considered. Farnham said Altoona was “an easy pick.”
He said an educated and hard-working employee base, geographic location and “room to grow” made Altoona “the top choice.”
“I just think its another example of how great things are in Blair County,” said commissioner Barry Wright.
Wright said he appreciated company officials recognizing the local workforce in making their decision between the two choices for expansion.
A June 2004 Daily Herald article indicated the cost of the expansion was estimated at almost $4 million.
Representatives from ABCD Corp., Antis Township Supervisors, Blair County Commissioners, State Representative Jerry Stern, and State Senator Robert Jubelirer were also on hand for yesterday’s ceremonies, along with a representative from Congressman Bill Shuster’s office and other officials.
Carpenter’s consumer products division makes pillows, mattress pads and other craft fiber products that are marketed to retail operations. The company estimates sales in 2005 at $1.3 billion and employs 3,700 people in the United States and 5,500 worldwide.
The company started in 1948 and incorporated in 1954. Carpenter Company is a privately held and based in Richmond, VA.
