Gov. Ed Rendell has announced that two out-of-state firms will begin operations in Blair County this year, bringing 185 new jobs to the Altoona area.
Diversapack LLC, a manufacturer and printer of flexible packaging films, will be located in the Robert C. Jubelirer Business Park near Tyrone. It expects to hire 150 workers by mid-August. Advanced Metal Processing LLC, a secondary aluminum recycling business, will move into the DeGol Industrial Center in Hollidaysburg and will create 35 jobs over the next three years.
Both projects were coordinated through the efforts of Altoona-Blair County Development Corp.
and comprise a variety of federal, state, and local funding sources, including ABCD Corp.
“These projects have been in the works for about a year,” says ABCD spokesman Matthew Fox of the $21 million package.
Diversapack will receive $3.2 million in state assistance to help the company open a $7 million facilityplant. The Atlanta-based firm has nine U.S. manufacturing plants. Advanced Metal Processing will get $1.5 million in state assistance for its $13.8 million project. which transforms heavily coated scrap metal into pure clean aluminum,.
“The big ticket item associated with the AMP project is the RODECS system developed by Chinook–a business partner in this venture,” explains Fox.
Source: Matthew Fox
Writer: Chris O’Toole