Davis-Standard LLC, an extrusion-machinery manufacturer, is expanding its primary facility in Pawcatuck, adding 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space and over 30 jobs in the next two years.
The state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) is supporting the expansion with a series of grants totaling $1.3 million that will be provided as the company reaches certain job milestones. The funding requires approval from the State Bond Commission.
The facility will house the manufacturing and precision machining of advanced multi-layer blown film dies. It also enables Davis-Standard to move all blown film manufacturing for its Gloucester Engineering product line from Gloucester, Mass., to Pawcatuck. The addition is slated for completion later this fall.
Davis-Standard, which has 400 employees in Pawcatuck and is the largest extrusion machinery manufacturer in North America, said in a statement the expansion is a necessity for the business. Last fall it acquired Gloucester Engineering to strengthen its blown film product line through resources in sales, engineering and service. The dies are used for making highly technical multi-layer films used in packaging and pharmaceutical applications.
The company has operated in southeast Connecticut since 1848. In addition to the Pawcatuck facility, Davis-Standard has manufacturing facilities and subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
