New manufacturer raises the industrial bar

By DIANE GLYNN

WHITE MILLS — Flexible Foam Products, a division of Ohio Decorative Products, wants to make its new home in the Keystone Opportunity Zone, off Route 6 halfway between Palmyra and Texas Townships. In fact, the company is so assured of its quality standards and production, last month, Ohio Decorative Products flew local leaders to the mother plant in Spencerville, Ohio for the day to view and inspect the facilities, in order to be sure the chemical plant was a welcome addition to the new Wayne County industrial zone.

In a time when there are more Northeast PA plants relocating to other parts, Flexible Foam presents both a user-friendly and environmental-friendly face to neighbors in the Keystone Opportunity Zone, of which, according to Robert Suhosky of the Wayne Industrial Development Company (WIDCO) Flexible Foam will purchase 18.4 acres upon which to build the site, possibly as soon as 2003.

Flexible Foam expects to set up shop on Township Road 401,behind Chroma Tube in White Mills and employ between 75 and 125 individuals.

The foam product manufacturing firm, has sought quarters northeast of their mother plant that would enable both rail and highway transport of their products, which include various types of padding for furniture and carpeting.

The White Mills location was chosen in part due to the proximity of the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association, a company selected by PENNDOT to receive $250,000 to purchase an additional 24 miles of rail line between Hawley and Honesdale.

Plans for the 160,000 to 200,000 square foot plant were formally presented to the Palmyra Township Planning Board, after Ohio Decorative Products flew eight area representatives to the Spencerville plant on Friday, February 15 to see the actual production environment. Those representatives included Suhosky, Palmyra Supervisor Marie Ribiero, Texas Supervisor Paul Sprague, White Mills Fire Chief Ken Bates, attorney Tony Waldron, and a representative from PPL.

Were they impressed with Flexible Foam’s operation?

 “It was neat, clean, well coordinated, well-monitored, with little or no waste from the production of the foam,” Ribiero said. “They showed us every step of the process, from the manufacturing to the way the product is shipped out. This company will improve the area, and not just from an employment perspective.

One stumbling block which must be overcome before anything can be made official, is the industrial zone’s height stipulation within Palmyra Township’s zoning regulation, which limits construction to 35 feet.

Due to both interior and exterior height requirements of 55 feet, as specified in Flexible Foam’s blueprints presented to Palmyra planners, a conditional use hearing, scheduled for this Monday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. must precipitate formal approval of the new business.

And will it be an environmental benefit to the area?

According to material published on a state website, Ohio Decorative Products received the 2001 Ohio Governor’s Award for Excellence in pollution prevention. The company switched from industry standards of methylene chloride reliant to a toxic-free carbon dioxide process of manufacturing foam which greatly improved air emission control.