ILC Dover’s Grayling Industries is beginning to deliver the jobs it promised in Seaford.
The company invited state and local officials to their 60,000 square foot production facility Tuesday for a look at its progress.
50 employees are already working on two production lines at the old DuPont Nylon Manufacturing building as Grayling moves its manufacturing operation from Mexico to Delaware. Eight lines should be operating this time next year with a total of 115 to 120 jobs created.
ILC Dover made the decision to bring Grayling's production arm to Seaford in January shortly after purchasing the company in December. Graying produces protective packaging for storing and shipping food, liquid, chemical and dry powder products, along with products used for asbestos abatement and remediation.
Delaware Economic Development Office director Alan Levin called Grayling commitment to Seaford and Western Sussex County "a huge shot in the arm for an area that really needs a shot in the arm." Gov. Jack Markell agrees, saying convincing ILC Dover to move Grayling's Mexico operations to the First State a big win for Delaware, and specifically Seaford.
"The fact is [ILC Dover] has all kinds of choices. They could have kept the jobs in Mexico, but they didn't. They literally are taking 85 pieces of equipment and moving them a couple of thousand miles to be here in Seaford," said Markell. "They could have gone anywhere in the country. They chose Seaford."
[caption id="attachment_27314" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Grayling Industries currently has 50 employees working two production lines at its Seaford facility. (Click to enlarge)"]
ILC Dover CEO and Grayling presidnet William Wallach says the decision is already proving to be the correct one. He says state and local officials have made moving quickly from Mexico to Delaware possible.
"It went so much faster than we we ever hoped it could," said Wallach. "There were definite points along the way where if we didn't get some document signed in a certain period of time we'd have contractors sitting around not being able to do what they did. Every time we needed some assistance to get things done in a timely manner, people stepped up."
Wallach adds feedback to placing operations in Delaware is already fueling the possibility for add new business that could lead to additional jobs in Seaford.
“I’ve been out meeting with customers and I’ve been amazed how many customers have shared with us the fact that they didn’t give us more business because and they weren’t so comfortable with that," said Wallach. "They said you get your manufacturing operation going, we’re going to come and inspect - we have more business to give you. So, we believe there’s a lot of opportunity for growth here and the more product we make the more workers we're going to require."
That's good news for local officials like Seaford’s acting mayor David Genshaw, who says Grayling’s arrival is already helping spark economic development in the city.
“I think we’re right on that curve right now. We’re starting to see momentum in other parts of the city and this is just one key part on the western side of Seaford to I think keep that ball rolling," sad Genshaw. "It just feels like our whole town is kind of making a turn. We’ve gotten a lot more aggressive, a lot more assertive on trying to reach out to customers, to businesses."
The state gave ILC Dover/Grayling over $550,000 in grants from the Delaware’s Strategic Fund to facilitate the company’s move. Grayling has invested $1.6 million to renovate the production building and is building a 30,000 square foot warehouse to go with it.
House Minority leader, State Rep. Dan Short (R-Seaford), says the work the state did to convince ILC Dover to bring Grayling Industries to Seaford should be a template for job creation all across the state.
"This is the model we need to emulate," said Short. "Take a proven company [like ILC Dover] that has a great track record both historically with what they did with NASA and with what they're going down with Graying and expand upon that. [We should] use this as an example, showing people how we took an old warehouse and got to this end product. And then explain the time line that got them in here in less than a year. If we can do that over and over, I think we'll be a new Seaford a new Wester Sussex and a new Delaware."
