Area Development
To support anticipated future growth global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.

The expansion, which includes a new 20,000-square-foot, single-story manufacturing facility adjacent to the company's existing building in Cranberry Woods Office Park, north of Pittsburgh, will be used exclusively for assembly work connected to the company's leading line of gas detection products. The company expects to break ground on the new building at the end of the month, with the new building scheduled to open in mid-2021.

"MSA's portable instrument and fixed gas and flame detection (FGFD) businesses have been strong drivers of MSA's growth in recent years," said Nish Vartanian, MSA Chairman, President and CEO. "In Cranberry Township, one of the outcomes of this growth has been a steady and gradually increasing need for expansion and reconfiguration of our manufacturing space. With this investment, we can leverage a larger operations footprint to better meet the needs of our customers while creating an opportunity to add new manufacturing jobs within our region in the years ahead."

MSA's manufacturing facility in Cranberry Township has been home to the company's gas detection "center of excellence" since the building was opened in 1986. In 2010, the building was renovated to accommodate the company's relocated corporate headquarters staff.

Today, MSA's 320-acre Cranberry Township campus combines class-A office space with advanced manufacturing processes and research and development labs to serve customers around the world. Mr. Vartanian noted that the investment will enhance the Cranberry plant's role as MSA's Center of Excellence in gas detection technology.

"As a market leader in both the portable and fixed gas and flame gas detection products, we're excited to be able to invest in this area of our business in Western Pennsylvania, where MSA employs approximately 1,250 people," Mr. Vartanian said. "We've had tremendous success with our ALTAIR portable gas monitor line, our XCell Sensor technologies, the recent launch of our groundbreaking Ultima 5000 Series Gas Monitors, and the deployment of new connected technologies via our Safety io subsidiary. All of these innovations originated out of Cranberry Township, and it's exciting to know that we are still expanding on MSA's 106-year legacy of manufacturing excellence in our region," he concluded.