Growth proves roots are deep

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
The plant manager said the expansion investment is evidence of plans to stay in Warren.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Champion Injection Molding will show off its expanded production plant on Paige Avenue N.E. at an open house Friday morning for business customers, vendors and elected officials.
Plant manager Bo Campbell said the plastic window frame manufacturer recently bought the building where its factory has been based since the mid-1990s and constructed an addition. The company had been leasing the site.
"I think the expansion project shows the company is making a new commitment to the community," Campbell said. "We're here to stay."
Workers: Champion Injection Molding and its sister company, RSL Inc., employ between 90 and 95 at two plants in the 1100 block of Paige. About 10 employees were added after the factory expansion.
The Warren plant is one of three operated by RSL of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and has two manufacturing facilities in that state.
RSL produces and installs decorative door glass, also known as door lites for exterior doors, and has warehouses in Georgia, Kansas, California and Arizona.
Champion Injection Molding was founded by three partners as Carrie Plastics Industries and was located in Niles when it opened in 1989. Owner Ron Lewkowitz later bought out his two partners and moved the plant to Warren.
Lewkowitz also owns RSL, a company founded by his father, Bernd Lewkowitz, in 1963, so window frame manufacturing was a natural companion for the family's already-successful door window business, Campbell explained.
How plant grew: Starting out with a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing floor and just four presses, Champion Injection Molding has invested more than $2.5 million in plant upgrades and new machinery since its move to Warren and now operates 13 presses.
Champion Injection Molding supplies some other door and door-window makers, but RSL is its biggest customer, Campbell said, supplying about 90 percent of its business.