Nordson to centralize business at former Tamarkin facility
Staff report
AUSTINTOWN
The former Tamarkin facility on Victoria Road will have a new tenant and will bring new jobs to the township.
Nordson Corp. on Friday announced it plans to combine its screw and barrel operations in Boardman, New Castle, Pa., and Pulaski, Va., into a “single expanded manufacturing center of excellence” at the facility.
The Tamarkin building was previously a Giant Eagle retail support center for frozen foods at 375 Victoria Road.
A labor dispute led Giant Eagle to shut down Tamarkin early last year. Operations completely ceased in May 2015.
Nordson expects the transition to be completed over the next 18 months. The transition will occur in stages to minimize any potential impact to current customers, the company said.
Most of the positions in the Boardman, New Castle and Pulaski, Va., facilities will transfer to the Austintown facility. Total employment in Austintown is expected to be about 260.
Nordson will be actively recruiting for any positions that will not be filled by current employees.
“We expect this initiative to drive efficiencies in manufacturing processes, decrease lead times, enhance customer service, improve competitiveness and accelerate growth,” said John Keane, Nordson corporate senior vice president in a news release. “Our plan is for Austintown to join similar regional hubs for our screw and barrel products in Thailand and Germany. No other single supplier will be able to provide the polymer industry with such localized service on a global scale.”
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber is working with the company to finalize a local and state incentive package.
“The property was vacant after Tamarkin [left], so it definitely is a good use for the facility,” said Sarah Boyarko, the chamber’s senior vice president of economic development. “In looking at the company’s overall strategy, if we didn’t have the available property, we wouldn’t be in the running.”
Nordson delivers a full range of precision melt stream products, according to its website. Nordson’s Boardman location is at 8469 Southern Blvd.