LEETONIA GEI plant in industrial park nears completion

The company has received hundreds of applications, the CEO said.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Excitement continues to build both at General Extrusion Inc.'s corporate offices in Boardman and at the industrial park here as GEI's expansion plant nears completion.
President Herb Schuler Sr. said he hopes production will begin at the new plant in January with about 15 production workers to start.
Schuler said the company has received hundreds of applications from workers hoping to secure a job at the new plant.
He said the company has employed a few maintenance workers and supervisors but has not yet hired production workers.
Schuler said that installation of extrusion equipment at the plant is progressing more slowly than he'd hoped and that projections of the plant's beginning operation in mid-December were perhaps "a bit optimistic."
He said installing the extrusion equipment in the 92,000-square-foot facility is like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. He said there are hundreds of electronic connections to make.
Revised projection: Schuler said he hopes the wiring will be completed in time to test the equipment before Christmas. Then in January, more testing will be done -- including producing some test materials -- before actual production for GEI customers begins.
The village has extended water, sewer and electric service to the new industrial park. A high-pressure, 12-inch waterline, required to meet fire protection standard, supplies the plant.
The plant expansion is the largest in GEI's history, Schuler said. GEI creates aluminum parts for various companies in the hydraulic, pneumatic, electronic and transportation industries. About 365 workers are employed at GEI's main plant on Lake Park Road in Boardman.
GEI is the first tenant of the Columbiana County Port Authority's industrial park here. The park contains about 24 lots ranging in size from 2.5 to about 10 acres. GEI bought four lots on the northwest side of the park.