Parker Trutec to invest $8 million in Urbana plant

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Parker Trutec Inc. announced Tuesday plans to invest $8 million into its Urbana Jobbing Plant to construct a 57,000-square-foot expansion at its 4795 Upper Valley Pike facility.

The company, which began operations in Urbana in 1988, is a full-service industrial coating operation that caters to the automotive, military, and lawn and garden industries.

A press release issued by Parker Trutec states the building expansion is needed to accommodate a third electrocoating line.

“This new electrocoating process line addition complements the other electrocoat lines that are already in place at Parker Trutec and is expected to launch mass production by second quarter 2017,” the release states.

The new line, according to the release, is a “state-of-the-art 14 station electrocoating system … which will continue to allow an increase in production capacity for both existing and new customers and will also allow Parker Trutec Urbana to achieve tighter quality industry standards for steel, galvanneal and aluminum substrates.”

“Electrocoating is a manufacturing process that uses an electrical current to deposit paint onto a part or an assembled product,” said Geoff Smith, Parker Trutec – Urbana Jobbing Plant manager

Along with housing the new electrocoat line, the new addition will allow the company to improve production flow and efficiency for large-part processing while allowing for better utilization of existing floor space throughout the plant, the release states.

“This expansion will continue to allow us to serve our existing customers and additionally allow us to have open capacity for new business opportunities in the future,” Smith said.

Construction details, county impact

Link Construction, Bellefontaine, will be handling the new building installation, scheduled to be complete by the middle of next year.

Michael Kleiber, vice president of accounting and administration for Parker Trutec, said earth-moving equipment has started preparing the site for construction.

Smith added expansions to the Urbana Jobbing Plant are something the company has become accustomed to over its 27-year existence.

“This is the sixth building expansion since 1988,” he said. “With this 57,000-square-foot expansion, we will now have a total of almost 300,000 square feet at our Urbana facility.”

As for what the expansion means to the county, Champaign Economic Partnership Executive Director Marcia Bailey said, “This project has been in the works for a while, and I am thrilled corporate made the decision to move forward. Parker Trutec is a valuable asset to our community.

“Salem Township and West Liberty-Salem Local School District are pleased to have them as a neighbor. They provide a positive economic impact to the WL-S school district with an employee income tax and are a customer to the city of Urbana wastewater treatment facility,” she added.

According to Bailey, the expansion is being completed “without any incentives,” and it will provide more jobs and an additional investment to the community.

As for the number of jobs the expansion is expected to create, Smith said, at this time it’s difficult to say.

“As we proceed forward over the next 12 months, we will be able to see where our staffing levels should be,” he said.

Parker Trutec Inc. announced on Tuesday it’s building a 57,000-square-foot expansion onto its Urbana Jobbing Plant at 4795 Upper Valley Pike to add a third production line. Seen in the back of the photo is a crew preparing the site for construction.
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/10/web1_Trutec-expansion.jpgParker Trutec Inc. announced on Tuesday it’s building a 57,000-square-foot expansion onto its Urbana Jobbing Plant at 4795 Upper Valley Pike to add a third production line. Seen in the back of the photo is a crew preparing the site for construction. Joshua Keeran | Urbana Daily Citizen

This is the main entrance to Parker Trutec’s Urbana Jobbing Plant, 4795 Upper Valley Pike. The company revealed on Tuesday it’s committing $8 million to a building expansion project.
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/10/web1_Trutec-front.jpgThis is the main entrance to Parker Trutec’s Urbana Jobbing Plant, 4795 Upper Valley Pike. The company revealed on Tuesday it’s committing $8 million to a building expansion project. Joshua Keeran | Urbana Daily Citizen

By Joshua Keeran

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Joshua Keeran may be reached at 937-652-1331 (ext. 1774) or on Twitter @UDCKeeran.

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