MILES FOR VIALS
by Daisy Wakefield

Kaveh Soofer is waxing sentimental about a first meeting with a 45,000 square foot industrial space in East Hills Business Park. You can hardly fault him for falling in love. The facility is in Lawrence, after all. And this town tends to have affect people in that way, even a local manufacturing plant.

Soofer, the vice president of Plastikon Industries, says that the facility on Kansas Highway 10 is the perfect fit for a new plant to manufacture plastic vials. Plastikon, headquartered in San Francisco, is in its 28th year as an injection molding plastics manufacturer, with 8 plants in the US and 5 in Asia. Heading into a new market of pharmaceutical plastics, Soofer was frantically looking for a warehouse space to house a manufacturing plant using a "blow-fill-seal" technology.

"I was in a panic late one night, searching on the Internet," says Soofer, "And I came across this facility in Kansas that looked perfect for our needs. But I didn’t know anything about Kansas. All I knew was that it had tornadoes, and I didn’t want to jump from earthquakes to another natural disaster."

Soofer was relieved to learn that Lawrence is located in an indention in Kansas which shields it from most tornadoes. Still, he had to pitch the idea to the main client who was concerned about the earthquakes.

"During our discussions about this location, there happened to be earthquakes in New York City and Florida that made the national news," Soofer said. "But all was quiet in Kansas. So with that concern alleviated, I contacted the broker and came to tour the facility with a consultant. We saw that this was a solid building that had the infrastructure that we needed — a large number of tanks, a good water system. It had good bones, basically."

Those good bones transferred ownership to Plastikon at the end of January and have received $2.5 million in renovations thus far. All available warehouse space has already been converted to the clean rooms, and before production has even begun, the plant is stretching the boundaries of capacity. With a "if we build it, they will come" philosophy, plans are underway to expand the existing facility or acquire more warehouse space in the business park.

 

While Plastikon expressed interest in locating in East Hills, Lawrence’s key economic developers have not played coy. The new business is bringing obvious benefits to the city’s economic base, with $7 million in capital investment for facility upgrades and equipment over a five-year period. Employment is to be boosted by 50 jobs in the first year, and 126 jobs in a five-year span, with an average wage of $42,000 per year. Plastikon received a $700,000 incentive from the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which allocates funds to attract and support new bioscience initiatives in Kansas. The company did not seek tax abatements from the city, but rather asked for an incentive to help subsidize training costs at a total of $63,000, paid over five years. The funds, unanimously approved by the city’s Public Incentives Review Commission, will be split between the city and the county.

Stacey Falco, Office Manager of the Lawrence branch, is already planning the expansion.

"We plan to begin construction an additional warehouse by the first of next year," Falco said. "We need, essentially, a big empty room to store the hundreds of thousand of vials we will be producing."

The vials will be completely produced, filled, stored and shipped from the East Hills location.

"Really, it’s a self-contained business," Falco said. "We will be entirely servicing one client with this facility."

Beth Johnson, Economic Director of Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, says, "Plastikon did not qualify to apply for a tax abatement, since the capital outlay did not meet that criteria. But offering an employee training incentive was a way that we could show them how much we wanted them here. Our hope is definitely to position Lawrence as a solid growth city for the biotech field, and Plastikon’s coming to Lawrence helps that significantly."

"This was a company that we wanted to have in Lawrence, as they would bring in the type of jobs that we wanted to attract," said Mike Amyx, City Commissioner and Lawrence mayor during the transaction. "There was a lot of work done to make sure that they did locate here. We sold the community as a great place to do business, with a great pool of employment and a well-educated employment base. We also stressed that this is a continued partnership — we’ll be staying in contact with the company, and looking for ways to continually help them."

 

And that employment base would be crucial, as Plastikon does all hiring locally, from office to manufacturing to management. In fact, with the exception of Soofer coming in from California at intervals to get the plant off the ground, all other positions are to be filled locally. Plastikon also sources all of its commercial needs locally. Lawrence engineers, architects, and construction crews have done all the building renovations. Local lawyers represent the company, and a local bank transacts their funds.

"We intend to source as much as possible from the local community," Soofer said. "If the people we hire are from this area, they’ll be more stable in the long term as they have a vested interest in where they live — much more so than if we brought in people from outside."

Soofer didn’t have to look far for his first employee, building maintenance manager and Lawrencian Charlie Garzillo. Part of the original construction crew that broke ground on the facility, Garzillo became the maintenance manager for original owner in 2003. Garzillo has rolled with the punches in each of the four ownership changes, maintaining the building through its empty states.

"My goal has always been to keep the facilities as functional and operational as possible, so that it would be marketable," Garzillo said.

As an employer, Plastikon states "building trust and teamwork among our employees" as a critical value. This may sound like typical corporate-speak, but Soofer, an executive with a laid-back and approachable demeanor, does much to lend authenticity to the statement. For now, Soofer comes to Lawrence every few weeks to oversee the hiring and renovations. Eventually, Soofer’s trips here will taper off. But he isn’t in a hurry.

"Lawrence is a great town — community-oriented, tight-knit, great art scene, fabulous food," Soofer said. "I’m never in a hurry to leave like I am on other business trips. I absolutely see why people want to live here."

Share.

125 Comments

  1. жазықтықтағы тікбұрышты координаталар жүйесі 8 сынып бжб, ай тест 4 сынып агам бар
    менин скачать припев, агама
    олен скачать математиканың шығу тарихы реферат, математиканы кім ойлап тапты жұптық жұмысқа әдіс
    тәсіл, сабақта қолданылатын әдіс тәсілдер баяндама

  2. Beneath are seven information studies providing an historic overview of the a lot-uncared for (or perhaps I should say, much-averted) matter of Vatican relations with the PLO, and its relations with Israel in regard to the PLO, from 1982, when the pope embraced Yasser Arafat, until 1994, when the Vatican gave the PLO its own workplace in the Vatican.

  3. Motorwayandmultipleareasacrossstatehighwaysproject supply Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Company,primers, undercoats and colourwhich may even comeThe bridge design also makes plenty of culturalthat are problematic for graffiti.www.nzta.govt.nzdown to specifying the dry time wanted between coats.references.

  4. She was sitting on a sofa positioned in an angle of the room, with her legs crossed underneath her within the Jap fashion, and appeared to have made for herself, because it had been, a kind of nest within the rich Indian silks which enveloped her.

  5. Now we have a detailed working relationship with Exova Warrington Fireplace the place we help the appliance of passive fire safety methods that are being developed for future purposes in the worldwide market area.

  6. Chhetri then finished off a formidable first half of the season for Bengaluru with a goal from the penalty spot towards Salgaocar, his ninth of the season, as he led the Bangalore aspect to a 2-1 victory.

  7. Enter the amounts you paid for electric or pure gas heat pump water heaters that achieve the best efficiency tier established by the CEE that’s in impact as of the beginning of the calendar yr through which the property is positioned in service.

  8. The heyday of Povey Brothers coincided with the growing financial affluence of the area, and the brothers’ work was a lot wanted by the new wealthy to decorate the massive houses they have been constructing.

  9. This enables you to make use of the fuel heater as well because the heat pump if required both to quickly heat up the pool or if the air temperature is simply too chilly to run the heat pump effectively eg on the and of the swimming season.

  10. Because the typical bath is pretty small, it solely takes a number of key parts, and even just new wall-covering borders and accessories, to counsel a new style in your bath.

  11. Ought to the bridal store go out of enterprise prior to receiving your gown, you possibly can contact the financial institution that issued your card, and you’ll most probably obtain a full refund of your deposit (it’s best to all the time examine the foundations together with your issuing financial institution).

  12. For those who personally discover the article about dieting in 1942 of curiosity (I don’t know, maybe you’re a health buff with a history degree), and you’re tempted to incorporate it in your title over potential keywords from extra typically interesting articles inside the same concern, comparable to one about Carmen Miranda or the film assessment with Gary Cooper and Bette Davis pics, don’t-anybody who collects information about diets throughout time has doubtless been compelled to become expert sufficient at an eBay search to dig a little bit deeper and find this info in your itemizing anyway…

  13. For eight weeks every year, the show attracts more than a million folks to its Large Apple performances, and hundreds extra catch its holiday tour to main cities around the United States.

  14. Treating your typewriter to a daily spa day isn’t just about sustaining its vintage charm-it’s about guaranteeing it performs at its best.

  15. A pretty, blonde woman who is mates with Vin Jin and is understood in Cheonliang (her and Vin Jin’s hometown) as the Empress of Two Seconds because she defeats opponents in a struggle in two seconds.

  16. Vintage posters (those that have been printed when the movie came out and those printed to accompany subsequent theatrical re-releases of the movie) are the actual collectors gadgets, however they are additionally costlier — generally costing hundreds of hundreds of dollars for the preferred movies!

  17. And there are new webpages doing the same with random style designs matched with almost equivalent examples from the pure world (like @vogue.biologique on Instagram).

  18. Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break. I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, superb site!

  19. There are lots of workout routines you can do to grasp grammar, however crucial thing is first of all to know what there is to grasp, and these references present you that.

  20. In 1918 the Belgian engineer Emil Bicheroux improved the plate glass manufacturing by pouring molten glass between two rollers, which resulted in more even thickness and fewer undulations, and reduced the need for grinding and sharpening.

  21. Thanks for enabling me to gain new suggestions about personal computers. I also contain the belief that certain of the best ways to keep your notebook computer in leading condition has been a hard plastic-type material case, or shell, that fits over the top of one’s computer. A majority of these protective gear usually are model specific since they are made to fit perfectly within the natural covering. You can buy all of them directly from owner, or through third party places if they are intended for your laptop computer, however only a few laptop may have a shell on the market. Just as before, thanks for your tips.

  22. Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!

  23. I have noticed that in cameras, special receptors help to {focus|concentrate|maintain focus|target|a**** automatically. The actual sensors involving some cams change in in the area of contrast, while others make use of a beam associated with infra-red (IR) light, especially in low lighting. Higher standards cameras at times use a combination of both programs and will often have Face Priority AF where the digital camera can ‘See’ a new face and focus only in that. Thank you for sharing your thinking on this web site.

  24. подработка на авито киров кирове работа в стаханове на дому бухгалтер на дому найти работу подработка в отрадном самарской области с
    ежедневной оплатой в свободное время для
    женщин

  25. 15. A pair of younger ladies gossip in a formal backyard setting; one in a predominately white dress; the other in a fairly pink striped lace high, with a pink a pink tartan design on her dress.

  26. “An Inquiry relating to the Boss Family and the name Boss (1902)” – This publication is a collection of letters exchanged between William Graham Boss of Edinburgh, Scotland and Henry Rush Boss of recent York, USA.

Leave A Reply

Contact to Listing Owner

Captcha Code