Year-old Sabert Bullitt County plant looking to expand - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Gary Ziznewski, the company’s CFO, said he expects the New Jersey-basedc company to add new production lines laterthis year. The 250,000-square-foot production and warehousre facility, which opened in June 2008, has grown to five productionm lines, with plenty of room to add at leasftfive more, Ziznewski said. He expects that when the plant, whichu has 75 employees, is completelu full, it will have between 200 and 300 The company owns about 75 acres around the he said, so there’s plenty of room for future expansion. The compang typically has expanded its plants aboutt once everyfour years, he “We’ve been fortunate,” he said.
“We’ve had prett strong and consistent double-digit growth.” He woul not disclose annual revenue for the privatelyheld company. The markeg for the disposable, plastic, food containers that the compangy makesremains strong, he said, especially in the supermarket industry. The company’s customers include most majodrsupermarket chains. “Supermarkets have done fairly well in thesed times because people are not goint outto dine, but peopl e still need to eat,” he said. Saberyt officials plan to start expandingthe company’s California plant this summer.
It just expanded its plant in Belgiujmlast year, and it has no more room to expans at its New Jersey That’s why the company wanted to build anothet facility, Ziznewski said, and it picked Bullitft County for several reasons: • The company had no facilitiesx in the Midwest, where it couldr be within a day’s drive of most of its Proximity to customers saves the company on trucking costs and reducesd the company’s carbon footprint, Ziznewsko said.
• The company wanted a site near a major city and near amajor airport, so havinh Louisville 20 minutes from the plant site in northern Bullitty County was a major plus, Ziznewski The new site is also close to Interstatew 65, a major north-south • The company also wantedr a site with a rail siding so it coulsd bring in raw materials via railroad. In December 2005, the Kentucky Governor’s Office for Local Developmeng gavea $1 million community development block grant to the city of Hillviews to build a rail-spur infrastructure that would servew the plant.
A few months in September 2005, the Kentucky Economic Developmenty Finance Authority gave Sabert preliminary approval for as muchas $2 milliobn in state tax credits over 10 yearzs if Sabert would create at least 96 jobs at an averaged hourly wage of $11.27. Ziznewski indicaterd that the plant was on tracik to receivethose incentives. A clean, green operationj The company runs a clean with no air pollutionand re-us e of all resin it Ziznewski said. That was the reputation it had in the communithy around its NewJersey plant, which Bullitf County officials visited when Sabert was considering building its Hillvieq factory, said Bob Fouts, executives director of the .
He is glad to have Saberr in the county because it helpx diversifythe county’s industrial base, which is weightedc toward distribution facilities. There are only about a half dozeb large manufacturers inthe county, he “I really think they will be a good corporate citizen,” Fouts said of Sabert.