Lehigh Valley Plastics Consolidating Locations

Lehigh Valley Plastics Inc. (USA, privately held) announced it will be moving to a new, larger location in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area. Currently, LVP operations are spread among four locations in and around Allentown: Company offices; Injection Molding division is 4,000 square feet and employs five; Fabrication division is 7,000 square feet, employing 15; Machining division is 30,000 square feet and employs almost 60 workers. All four will be moving to a single facility less than five miles away, which also has room for expansion. The consolidation will not only dramatically improve manufacturing, management and support efficiencies, but also allow the company to hire additional workers to keep pace with its growth. LVP manufactures polymer bearings, bushings, washers, chain guides, machine guards, gears, and a wide variety of other parts for everything from construction and heavy industry to agricultural to conveyors and various material handling, transportation, and industrial machinery applications. Founded in 1971, LVP was acquired in October 2005 from its founders by a private equity investor group. Richard G. Larson was named President and CEO, succeeding founder Fred Ressler in those positions. At the time, Mr. Ressler said: "To grow the business to the next level is going to take a great deal of energy, capital investment, some operational improvements and the right kind of contacts and expertise. We were very selective in who we chose to succeed us because we wanted to make sure they have the same vision for growth that we've had. We want to see Lehigh Valley Plastics become an international contender in the industry." LVP had approximately $17 million in sales for fiscal 2005, and expects at least a 20% jump for 2006. Through the first half of 2006, the company said sales are running more than 26% ahead of 2005. The consolidation and move to its new location is expected to be complete by early 2007.