A southwestern Pennsylvania company that makes custom-designed metal buildings is adding onto its plant and expects to hire more workers.
Corle Building Systems designs and builds structures for a variety of customers including churches, farms, schools and water parks. About 120 people work at its facility in Imler, about 30 miles south of Altoona. While its shop takes up about 130,000 square feet now, that space was becoming inadequate for a company that experienced its best year in 2011. One problem with Corle's current setup is that when steel for its buildings is painted, it can take as much as 18 hours to dry.
A 33,000-square foot addition that's expected to be finished by May will include a system in which paint will be mechanically sprayed onto the metal and cured in an oven. The whole process will take an hour or two. Frank Kmetz, Corle's national sales manager, adds that the painting area will have its own ventilation system that will prevent paint vapors from leaving the building. The company expects to hire about 10 more workers for the plant.
Kmetz says a talented workforce has allowed the company to grow. Also, some competitors have closed and others have consolidated in recent years. As a result, he says, other companies can take up to 16 weeks to fill an order. Corle's average lead time is between four and six weeks. “We’re extremely busy,” he says.
Source: Frank Kmetz, Corle Building Systems
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen