News Release: Serigraphie Richford, Inc. Coming to Fairfield County
More than 100 new manufacturing jobs will be created during the next three years by a Canadian company who chose Lancaster for its first U.S. facility. Serigraphie Richford, Inc. (SRI) a glass bottle decorating company, will open in the Rock Mill Industrial Park at 1061 Mill Park Drive. Rishee Behl, co-owner and vice president of Serigraphie Richford, said he expects production at the Lancaster facility to begin in September.
For more than three decades SRI has specialized in printing and decorating glass containers. They take pride in having built a reputation envied by others in our industry. Over the years SRI has partnered with some of the biggest names in the industries, and put their stamp on the biggest brands on the market. Partners have included Estée Lauder, Avon, Revlon, L’Oréal, Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, Canandaigua, Vincor, and Sleeman .
Using a highly skilled labour force, the most modern technology, sophisticated equipment and the best raw materials available, all supported by sustained and ongoing research and development efforts, have enabled SRI to be the North American leader that it is today. SRI has received many international awards over the years, being honoured by peers and packaging industry observers, for excellence and technical execution of design. SRI is extremely proud of the commitment to sustainable development and the efforts they have undertaken to make their work both more efficient and environmentally friendly. Through choosing the best materials, reducing energy consumption, recuperation and recycling efforts, and better management of residual waste, SRI is contributing and making a difference.
“It (Lancaster) is a good location. It has a good workforce with a lot of experience within the glass industry,” Behl said. “So we are hoping that we will find a lot of good quality people to work with us. It helps a lot that there’s a lot of glass making in the state of Ohio, and our customers are in neighboring states.” He said only two or three current employees will relocate to Lancaster; the remaining jobs will be filled with local workers.
Lancaster Economic Development Director Mike Pettit emphasized the company’s expansion to the area is contingent upon expected incentives from state and local authorities. “Certainly manufacturing was high on our target list and being a glass-related process, that is a targeted industry,” Pettit said. “So this helps the region, helps certainly the city of Lancaster and the people that are here.”
Pettit said studies have shown manufacturing jobs create a ripple effect throughout a community’s economy. He said the company will aid the city of Lancaster because it is a strong user of natural gas.
Serigraphie Richford, Inc. will move into an existing building on Mill Park Drive, but the facility will soon be expanded from 60,000 to 80,000 square feet. Behl said expansion of the facility will begin “immediately.” He expects equipment to be delivered to the plant in August. The three-shift operation will take about three years to meet the 100 jobs forecasted.
Behl said they “won’t close the door” to more expansion throughout the U.S., but current plans are to focus on the new Lancaster facility. He said part of the appeal of Lancaster was the glass-related industries already in the community, including Anchor Hocking.
Fairfield County Economic Development Director Shane Farnsworth said he thinks the addition of Serigraphie Richford, Inc. to Fairfield County will aid in the recovery of the local economy. “Through collaborative efforts we were able to attract SRI to our community,” he said. “Only through working together with organizations like the Fairfield 33 Development Alliance can we compete in the global market.”
06/22/2010
