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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Victaulic Expands Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, Manufacturing Centers

11/22/2017
Victaulic, a Forks Township-based manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining solutions and grooved pipe joining systems, is expanding its manufacturing operations in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The company will also add a second shift to its Forks Township facility, creating roughly 50 new jobs by the end of 2018.

According to Lehigh Valley Economic Development, “one of the Lehigh Valley’s top manufacturers, is doubling down on its commitment in the region, investing tens of millions of dollars to increase its manufacturing operations, and creating up to 50 new jobs by next year.”

“This is an indication of the optimism we feel for manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley,” said John Malloy, Chairman, President & CEO of Victaulic. “Contrary to what you might read in the headlines, manufacturing is alive and well.”

The company is expanding its Lehigh Valley manufacturing operations and adding a second shift to its Forks Township facility, adding 45 to 50 new jobs by the end of 2018, Malloy said.

Additionally, the company will be making a capital investment in its existing Lower Macungie Township facility, which is currently operating at full capacity.

Victaulic is also purchasing 28 acres of land in the Hecktown Road Business Park, located just off the Route 33 interchange in Lower Nazareth Township, to build a 400,000 square-foot facility, he said.

Victaulic’s new Lower Nazareth Township facility will house light assembly operations for its products. Malloy said the latest robotic and optical technology will be used to verify the quality of Victaulic castings and finished products through automated assembly operations.

Victaulic currently partners with Cast-Pac Inc. for light assembly operations in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Malloy said those operations will be relocated to the new Lower Nazareth Township facility by 2019.

Malloy said all these investments are possible due to greater demand for Victaulic’s products over the past year, as well as the company’s growth and expansion that has been made possibly by its location in the Lehigh Valley. The company has more than doubled both its sales force and engineering force over the past 12 years.

“We wouldn’t have been able to have done that without the support of LVEDC, and the image that the Lehigh Valley has because of that organization,” Malloy said. “By showcasing the region’s capabilities, we’ve been able to recruit not only in the area, but around the country.”

Manufacturing is the second-biggest sector in the Lehigh Valley in terms of economic output, making up $6.9 billion of the Lehigh Valley’s total $39 billion GDP, according to LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham. There are about 680 manufacturers in the region today, he said, employing about 32,000 people.

“A lot of people assume we don’t make things in this country or in the Lehigh Valley anymore, especially in the category of heavy industry and heavy manufacturing,” Cunningham said. “That’s simply not true, and Victaulic is a prime example of that. They are truly one of the leading manufacturers in the Lehigh Valley.”

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