NEWMARKET, Ontario — AirBoss of America Corp. is expanding custom-mixing capabilities at its facilities in North Carolina and Ontario in response to growing demand from customers.
New tire manufacturing and retreading are two of the industries AirBoss serves.
The firm plans to double capacity at its 150,000-sq.-ft. Scotland Neck, N.C., facility with a new rubber compounding line. AirBoss said it expects the expansion to be fully operational by July 2019.
The firm received a performance-based grant valued at $125,000 from One North Carolina Fund to help facilitate the expansion, which North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said represents a $5.2 million investment and 42 new jobs for Halifax County.
AirBoss intends to add dedicated white and color rubber mixing lines at its 1 million-sq.ft. site in Kitchener, Ontario, to help it increase its market penetration in these key areas. The lines are expected to be fully operational by March 2019.
Investment details on the Ontario project were not disclosed.
The moves are part of AirBoss' overall strategy to build greater regional capacity in U.S. The firm said its overall processing capacity is 400 million pounds of rubber annually.
Among AirBoss's key customer segments is providing compound to retreaders for mold-cure retreading and new tire makers. The plant in North Carolina especially is active in these sectors, the company said.