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Crystal Window & Door Systems has shared development plans for its newly acquired 226-acre property in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Crystal’s new Pennsylvania facility.
Purchased on October 1, the property in Benton Township, Pa., is located north of Scranton approximately one mile west of I-81 and includes a partially outfitted 336,500 square-foot industrial building, formerly owned by Owens Corning Glass.
At the press conference in Scranton last Friday, Crystal executives stated that major building renovation and upgrading was underway, and production equipment is was slated for delivery starting this week. Crystal expects to be producing its first aluminum windows at the facility in January or February of 2016. Further development of the facility calls for the eventual production of all of Crystal’s 20 vinyl and aluminum product lines as well as associated glass, vinyl and aluminum operations at the new factory.
“Crystal Windows’ acquisition and development of the Pennsylvania property is the next step in our long history of expansion and growth,” says Thomas Chen, founder and CEO for Crystal. “For 25 years, Crystal has provided quality products to the construction and fenestration industries, and once up and running, this new production facility will enable us to continue to serve our growing customer base across the nation for a long time to come.”
Crystal’s long-range conceptual plans also call for expansion of the existing structure.
The initial start-up year of the new operation will see the hiring of 30 to 50 workers, according to the company. As production ramps up over the next five years, a total of 300 to 350 employees will be needed, and long-range plans could see a total corporate/industrial park workforce of 500 to 600.
Crystal’s chief operating officer Steve Chen says the company is not planning to use the new Pennsylvania facility to consolidate or move operations from any of its existing factories.
“This new facility represents a true expansion,” he says. “It will augment and supplement our existing facilities, giving us much needed additional production capacity.”
Crystal’s significant expansion efforts since its startup in New York City in 1990 include an 85,000 square-foot Chicago factory in 1996, a new 205,000 square-foot facility in Queens, New York in 2001, the 2003 acquisition of a 131,000 square-foot aluminum extrusion plant in Union, Mo., and the launch of a 116,000 square-foot Riverside, Calif., manufacturing operation in 2012. The company also operates sales and distribution offices in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis and Southern California. With more than 500 employees nationally, Crystal distributes products in more than 40 states.
