YOUNGSTOWN Exal Corp. announces plans to expand again

Last year, Exal announced a $12.6 million project creating 66 jobs over four years.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Exal Corp. is so busy that it's making a $25 million expansion less than 18 months after the last one.
Exal, an aluminum container maker, plans to add a regular manufacturing line in February. A second, high-speed line will come in midsummer, said Brenda Oman, vice president for finance and administration.
The company will invest $25 million, nearly all of it in equipment for the two new lines, into its plant at the Performance Place Industrial Park. The new equipment will mean 33 new jobs.
"We're just really, really, busy. We can't keep up," Oman said.
The plant is booked 16 to 20 weeks ahead of time. Customers don't want to wait that long, so the company is adding capacity, she said.
The expansion and the 10-year, 75-percent abatement on the equipment that the city will offer were explained to city council's economic development committee Thursday. Council already granted the board of control approval to waive water and sewer tap-in fees and building permit fees.
In demand
When the economy is down, people buy fewer big-ticket items. Instead, they buy more of the smaller luxury items that use aluminum containers, Oman said.
Also, the company is moving into providing new products, which increases demands on production, she said.
The company has about 120 workers now. Employment will reach close to 200 once hirings are complete for the coming and previous expansions.
Last year, Exal announced a $12.6 million project that would create 66 jobs over four years. The project included Exal buying its building from the developer who owned it, enlarging the space and adding manufacturing equipment.
The new equipment will fit into space left when the building was expanded, said Jeffrey L. Chagnot, city development director. The machinery will be Exal's sixth and seventh production lines.
With the latest project, Exal will have invested $83 million in its city operation since 1993.
rgsmith@vindy.com