Serigraphie Richford Incorporated Ohio, or SRI, has been in production less than two weeks, but demand for screen-printed bottles has kept company officials busy.
The Lancaster, Ohio plant is the fir…
Serigraphie Richford Incorporated Ohio, or SRI, has been in production less than two weeks, but demand for screen-printed bottles has kept company officials busy. The Lancaster, Ohio plant is the first US location for the Canadian-based company. “It“s a real treat to start with an empty building and now we“re in production”, said SRI Ohio vice president of operations Bob Muckensturm. The company prints and heats labels onto empty glass bottles, many of which will be filled with spirits; one of the firm“s biggest contracts is with Svedka, a Swedish vodka. The bottles are printed in Lancaster, then shipped to a distillery in Kentucky to be filled. “(Lancaster) is a nice central location, to be close to the glass industry and also close to the distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana”, said Marc Andre Briere, director of Technical Development for SRI Ohio. “It makes sense to be here”. One of the keys to starting production was the expansion of the building at 1061 Mill Park Drive. In a few months, the existing facility was expanded from 60,000 to 80,000 square feet. The added space was completed in early September 2010. The manufacturer currently operates one shift, but will eventuall move to three-shift operation. Muckensturm said the company will employ 30 people by the end of the year and about 100 during the next 2 1/2 years. He said all the jobs will be full-time. Fairfield County Economic Development Director Shane Farnsworth said he was pleased to see the manufacturer begin production. “We had a lot of challenges with the economy. It“s great to see the investment they have made to the community. Great to see them up and running”, Mr. Farnsworth said. He credited Lancaster Economic Development Director Mike Pettit, for being instrumental in getting the company to Lancaster. The Ohio Development Financing Advisory Council awarded a USD 2.27 million loan from the Ohio Enterprise Bond Fund to SRI Ohio Inc. to buy machinery and equipment. The company is part of the Lancaster“s Community Reinvestment Area and receives a 100% property tax abatement for 15 years on the expanded section of the building. The company must pay property taxes for the original section of the building.