ClappDiCO Corporation - located in the Village of Whitehouse, Ohio - is planning a $10 million investment to expand operations at its northwest Ohio plant. The project will include additional machinery and equipment as well as increased manufacturing space. It is expected to add 42 new jobs and retain approximately 86.

The State of Ohio is in competition with multiple states for ClappDiCO's proposed project.

The new machinery and equipment will predominantly include CNC grinding equipment and wire electrical discharge machining (EDM).

In order to accommodate ClappDiCO's expansion of processes, the company intends to expand its existing 25,000 square foot facility by up to 20,000 square feet. The initial expansion will be about 10,000 square feet.

"We have been pushing the Lucas County Improvement Corporation (LCIC) and the State as far as support for this [project], because there are a lot of different regions in the world vying for this business," Mike Wachtel, ClappDiCO director of operations, stated. "We want to be, without question, the company that lands it. And I think that my director is going to put a very strong proposal in front of the board of directors that we should be the site that gets this business."

According to Wachtel, the announcement of the project will likely come soon, and the company will then move quickly to procure the equipment and floor space.

ClappDiCO has already begun to bring new employees into the Whitehouse plant and started to train them for the high skill process required at the facility.

"We're already bringing some of the people in and training them in anticipation of getting [the project]," Wachtel added. "If that wouldn't happen - which would be very unfortunate - we'd absorb these people into some other area of the business... [The LCIC is] working with both the local and the State government to procure training and other sorts of grants and support us in the people acquisition and training process."

If the Whitehouse plant is chosen, the expansion is likely to begin by the first of the year.

"The ultimate decision will be [made by] the board of directors of Kennametal," Wachtel stated.

"The investment allows ClappDiCO to grow roots and reduce the rationalization pressures from plants in the UK and South America, thereby providing an opportunity for the firm to create additional jobs," stated Shad Williams, business retention specialist, LCIC. "Property is readily available to quickly build out to meet expansion timeframes. The property location fits within an existing cluster of logistics and similar manufacturing businesses, which may provide potential for ClappDiCo to reduce its transportation cost."

ClappDiCO Corporation is a division of Kennametal Inc., a supplier of metal cutting solutions, tooling, and engineering for the industrial marketplace. ClappDiCO produces Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) and Polycrystalline Boron Nitride (PCBN) tooling. According to the company, the utilization of PCD and PCBN tooling has expanded rapidly over the past ten years within multiple industries.

Based in Whitehouse, the company's facility incorporates wire EDM, automatic CNC grinding, and high-precision visual inspection equipment.

ClappDiCO serves the automotive, telecommunications, electronics, and aerospaceindustries. For example, the automotive industry segment utilizes PCD and PCBN tooling in the machining of aluminum, powdered metals, and hardened steel and iron materials. The telecommunications industry incorporates the usage of PCD in the machining of plastics, fiberboard, bronze, brass, and zinc materials. PCD is also used in the machining of plastics, aluminum, glass, and copper materials for the electronics industry.

Additionally, according to ClappDiCO, the aerospace industry has just begun to unlock the economic potential of PCD and PCBN tooling in the machining of target materials such as high temp alloys, phenolics, graphite composites, and aluminums.

Copyright Telex Communications, Inc. Oct 2008

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