Groundbreaking ceremony held in VW

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Local and state officials gathered with representatives from Van Wert’s newest employer, TekniPlex, for a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

For months, it was referred to as “Project Hulk” while the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation, along with city, county and schools officials ironed out details and incentives, including tax breaks and an extension of Vision Drive at Vision Industrial Park.

TekniPlex is in the process of building a $17.5 million, 200,000 square foot facility and once complete, the plant will produce egg cartons made of specialty molded fibers. During the ceremony, Eldon Schafer, CEO, TekniPlex Consumer Products, laid out the company’s plans.

“We are the largest egg carton producer in the United States and Mexico and we’re the only one who produces in all major substrates – plastic and PET and now in molded fiber,” he said. “Over the past 18 months, we’ve brought three unique companies together to partner with us to where we supply and focus on material science solutions…we have customer insight, we have consumer insight and we have really created a powerhouse of solutions capabilities for our customers in the egg carton market.”

“We have developed a new fiber solution that will perform stronger and provide more superior egg protection in order to reduce food waste and costs so that we can help our customers win in the marketplace,” he added. “We’re really thrilled to have the people in Van Wert and people in the State of Ohio to help fill our factory with passionate, results-oriented employees so that we can all be successful together. We’re extremely grateful and extremely appreciative of all of the people that have helped make this a reality.”

The company has seven other specialty fiber plants in the United States and Mexico, including one in Decatur, Indiana.

“We look forward to creating that same community engagement and long standing relationship here in Van Wert,” said Jay Arnold, Senior Vice President/GM Fiber Business. “We’re going to create some proprietary technology, some state-of-the-art technology and we’re really looking forward to delivering to our customers.”

“We want to continue working with the State of Ohio and Van Wert community, particularly the schools, and we want to bring highly competitive jobs to the community for today and for the decades to come,” he continued. “There’s a lot of work to be done between today and next spring, and we look forward to building a very strong, energized team here and providing opportunities for career growth for folks here in Van Wert.”

The plant is expected to employee 100 workers and produce $4.8 million in annual revenue. Salaries are wide ranging, depending on position.

Arnold also noted it’s just Phase I of Techniplex’s plan in Van Wert.

“We look forward to future investments in this site,” he explained. “We’re building a plant that has the capability to expand within it. We look to expand our capacities, expand our product portfolios and continue to drive additional jobs here in Van Wert and that’s why it’s so important for us to partner with the schools and the community so that we can train and develop the skills we’re going to need for today and the future.”

Before the ceremonial groundbreaking, LuAnnee Cooke, Northwest Ohio Regional Liaison for Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Tim Schneider, Northwest Ohio Representative for U.S. Senator J.D. Vance presented proclamations to TekniPlex Plant Manager Lonnie Crump. Van Wert Area Economic Development Director Brent Stevens served as Master of Ceremonies.