Shelton-based manufacturer Modern Plastics, which has experienced booming demand for its protective face shields due to the coronavirus pandemic, is expanding in the Valley.
Bing Carbone, company president, said it will be occupying the former Charles J. Dickgiesser Building at 257 Roosevelt Dr., or Route 34, in Derby.
This expansion will be in addition to the company’s current location, at 88 Long Hill Cross Rd. in Shelton.
“We are currently manufacturing 300,000 plastic face shields per month at our current facility (in Shelton),” Carbone said. “We need to take that to close to one million per month. We need a lot more space to do that, which this Derby warehouse offers us.”
The company plans to lease the Derby facility, and expects to occupy it by the end of November or early December, Carbone added.
He said the location is “just perfect,” for what the company needs.
“The building owner, Ben Perry, is doing a remarkable job renovating it for us,” he said. “Derby Mayor Richard Dziekan and his economic liaison Carmen DiCenso have been absolutely fantastic in assisting and welcoming us to Derby.”
Carbone anticipates hiring 60 to 65 more workers for the expanded manufacturing effort.
For some 75 years, Modern Plastics has supplied plastics to various customers, such as in the healthcare, aerospace, chemical and electronics industries.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Carbone decided earlier this year to start making face shields because of the high demand for protective equipment, particularly for workers in hospitals, healthcare settings and retail. The company also started making plexiglass barriers and plastic clips which prevent surgical masks’ elastic strings from chafing.
DiCenso, Derby’s economic development liaison, said the company’s expansion will be “great” for the city, and it will put a vacant building back to use.
The city is working now to try to extend the bus line to the factory site to accommodate workers who will be employed there, he said.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.