Ensinger expansion project progresses
January 20, 2018
Katie Anderson
Observer Reporter
An expansion project is progressing for Ensinger Inc., an international plastics manufacturing company with North American headquarters in North Strabane Township.
According to Doug Trbovich, North Strabane’s building code official, Ensinger has three projects going on near its facility at 365 Meadowlands Boulevard – a new headquarters facility, an addition to its current facility, and a parking lot expansion that is on the township supervisors’ agenda for approval next week.
“They’ve outgrown their facility, and they need more space,” Trbovich said.
Trbovich said the new facility is not yet in a building phase because site work is still being done. He said the structure is expected to be “a warehouse facility with additional office space and the potential of production space.”
Margaret Householder, township planning coordinator, said the site for that expansion is 7.9 acres and is expected to be used for light manufacturing, warehouse and office space. She said the 342,000-square-foot operation will be constructed in three phases.
She said the township does not yet know what the cost of construction will be, but Ensinger reported to them the value for all the infrastructure work for the site improvements is about $987,000.
According to township engineer Joe Sites of Gateway Engineers, Ensinger isn’t planning to “abandon” its existing facility.
“They plan to be in both buildings,” he said.
He said Ensinger’s connected addition to its current building, which will be used for “storage of products until the new facility gets built,” is expected to be finished by spring.
Householder said the 15,441-square-foot addition will cost about $1.75 million. So far, Trbovich said, the addition is in the “framing stage,” with some plumbing going in and the foundation already completed.
Sites said the addition took up some of the company’s parking space, so it started a parking lot expansion project, which will consist of a 39-space lot across the street. Sites said Ensinger plans to continue using that lot once all the construction is complete.
William R. Matthews III, Ensinger vice president of administration, could not be reached for comment.
Ensinger announced in June it would be expanding its headquarters facility in North Strabane after its plans to build in South Strabane near Tanger Outlets fell through.
Ensinger had entered into negotiations with Chapman Properties more than two years ago on a plan to move its headquarters from North Strabane to the 158-acre South Strabane property owned by Chapman. South Strabane supervisors previously approved Chapman’s conditional-use application for Ensinger, but denied the master plan because they did not permit Tanger Boulevard to be made a public road, prohibiting more than four parcels to share the boulevard.