Year-old Sabert Bullitt County plant looking to expand - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Gary Ziznewski, the company’ CFO, said he expects the New Jersey-based compang to add new production lines laterthis year. The 250,000-square-footf production and warehouse which opened inJune 2008, has growjn to five production lines, with plentg of room to add at least five more, Ziznewskki said. He expects that when the which has75 employees, is completelt full, it will have between 200 and 300 The company owns about 75 acreds around the plant, he so there’s plenty of room for futurs expansion. The company typically has expanded its plants about once everyfour years, he “We’ve been fortunate,” he said.
“We’ve had prett strong and consistent double-digit He would not disclose annual revenuew for the privatelyheld company. The market for the plastic, food containers that the company makes remains strong, he said, especially in the supermarket The company’s customers include most major supermarkety chains. “Supermarkets have done fairly well in thesde times because people are not going outto dine, but people stilp need to eat,” he said. Saber officials plan to start expandingthe company’s California plant this It just expanded its plant in Belgium last year, and it has no more room to expandc at its New Jersey plant.
That’s why the compan y wanted to buildanother facility, Ziznewski and it picked Bullitt County for several reasons: The company had no facilitie in the Midwest, where it could be within a day’sx drive of most of its customers. Proximith to customers saves the compangy on trucking costs and reducesthe company’ws carbon footprint, Ziznewski said. • The company wanted a site near a majodr city and near a major so having Louisville 20 minutes from the plangt site in northern Bullitt County was amajotr plus, Ziznewski said. The new site is also close to Interstatew 65, a major north-south roadway.
• The companyu also wanted a site with a rail sidinfg so it could bring in raw materialsvia railroad. In Decemberd 2005, the Kentucky Governor’s Offics for Local Development gavea $1 million community development block grant to the city of Hillvieew to build a rail-spur infrastructure that would servr the plant. A few months in September 2005, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave Sabert preliminary approval for as muchas $2 million in state tax credits over 10 years if Sabertt would create at least 96 jobs at an averaged hourly wage of $11.27. Ziznewski indicaterd that the plant was on track to receivsethose incentives.
A clean, green operation The compan runs a clean with no air pollutionand re-use of all resinj it uses, Ziznewski said. That was the reputatiob it had in the communityg around its NewJersey plant, which Bullity County officials visited when Saberty was considering building its Hillvie factory, said Bob Fouts, executive director of the . He is glad to have Sabertg in the county because it helps diversifythe county’s industrial which is weighted toward distribution facilities. Therd are only about a half dozenn large manufacturers inthe county, he “I really think they will be a good corporats citizen,” Fouts said of Sabert.