Darren Buttle, the founder and CEO of Muzo, a flexible classroom learning and office solutions furniture company founded in 1999 out of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, was waiting for the right opportunity to meet the needs of his growing business, and when it arose, he quickly jumped at the chance to lease the 74,000 square-foot facility in the Valmont Industrial Park, West Hazleton that had just recently become available.
It was 10 years ago when Buttle first decided on Greater Hazleton for a U.S. manufacturing facility. He said sales in the United States were increasing and one day he got a knock on his door back in Yorkshire. There stood a representative from the Pennsylvania Office of International Business Development who persuaded him to take a trip to Pennsylvania to explore the opportunity of opening manufacturing here.
For companies that are looking for a new location and want to capitalize on the benefits that Greater Hazleton offers, Humboldt Industrial Park has available buildings that are ideal for companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, e-commerce and distribution.
Humboldt Industrial Park, located in Greater Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is adjacent to Interstate 81 and within miles of Interstate 80. This infrastructure benefit puts companies within 300 miles of 25 percent of the population and total production of the entire nation, meaning these key transportation routes put any business within a day’s drive of several major metropolitan areas and locations. Within a 30-mile commute surrounding Humboldt Industrial Park, there is a population of 671,600 with a civilian labor force of 331,500 making it easy to attract a qualified workforce.
IRIS USA is a globally-recognized name in injected-molded plastic products. Although the company only began operations at its 500,000 square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in the Humboldt Industrial Park last month, company President Hiroyuki (Doc) Takahashi already had high praise for Greater Hazleton’s workforce.
“We are honored to be part of the Hazleton community, and to drive new job creation in the area,” Takahashi said. “Luzerne County is home to a highly-skilled, talented and diverse workforce.”
Sky Organics, an e-commerce company that makes all-natural beauty and personal care products, selected Greater Hazleton as the location for its new distribution facility because it provided the company both immediate access to key transportation routes, including Interstate 80 and Interstate 81, as well as a cost savings.
Tal Shemesh, vice president of operations at Sky Organics, said, “Having a facility in Pennsylvania has been great to us. It’s near the Port of New York and close to major highways. Our company is based in Florida and we find that having the distribution facility in Pennsylvania has allowed us to save on freight costs.”
CAN DO’s dedication to workforce development is evident right in its mission statement: to improve the quality of life in the Greater Hazleton area through the creation and retention of a full range of employment opportunities.
CAN DO is committed to helping industries across its parks access the employee education and training options that are currently available in the area while also focusing on the future workforce development needs that will help Greater Hazleton continue to be a competitive economic environment.
Sky Organics, a family-owned manufacturer of a wide variety of organic products, will open a new distribution facility in Valmont Industrial Park in West Hazleton.
The company has purchased the 90,000 square foot industrial building at 150 Jaycee Drive.
Sky Organics was founded in 2015 and manufactures and distributes personal care, beauty, aromatherapy, and household products such as oils, toners, masks, moisturizers, soaps, butters, deodorants, toners, and hand sanitizers. Sky Organics uses only natural, organic botanicals to nourish the body, skin and hair with vital nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, proteins, and essential fatty acids.
Bluewater Property Group (BPG), a Conshohocken-based industrial real estate developer, in partnership with PCCP, LLC, is well underway with construction of its 470,000 square foot, Class-A, speculative development warehouse in Humboldt Industrial Park. BPG broke ground in November 2019, and is working with RC Andersen as its General Contractor, M+H Architects as its Architect and Webster Bank as its Lender.
The fully-entitled project is located on a 50-acre parcel at 101 Commerce Drive in the Humboldt East section of the Park with immediate access to the I-81 interchange. The state-of-the-art facility will feature a 36’ clear height, precast construction, 185’ truck court, 101 dock doors, full building circulation, 54’ x 50’ column spacing with 60’ speed bays, LED lighting, ESFR sprinklers, and ample car and trailer parking. BPG expects the facility to be completed in the latter half of 2020.
In its role as a Certified Economic Development Organization, CAN DO has been assisting businesses with a variety of financing services for decades. As things change by the minute during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, CAN DO's staff has continued to make themselves available to provide personalized service to businesses of all sizes to help them navigate the loan application process and discover additional business resources.
As a result of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having, CAN DO has fielded phone calls and emails from more than 70 businesses throughout Greater Hazleton to determine their eligibility for loans and processed multiple Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loan applications for emergency funding. If those loans are approved, it will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars of financial assistance for businesses located in Greater Hazleton.
Humboldt Industrial Park is already one of the largest parks in the state and continues to grow because of Greater Hazleton's strong workforce, strategic location and low cost of doing business. All three factors have led several developers – including Tri-Mountain Realty – to construct speculative buildings in the park over the past few years.
Tri-Mountain Realty constructed a 70,000 square-foot facility on 10 acres in the Humboldt North section of the park two years ago. Amazon is currently leasing the facility, as well as two surrounding sites, for its Amazon Delivery Service division.
When business is robust and companies need to expand their facilities or upgrade their machinery and equipment in order to be more efficient, securing financing can sometimes be the most challenging component of the project.
As a Certified Economic Development Organization (CEDO), through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), CAN DO helps businesses in Greater Hazleton and all of Luzerne County obtain the funding they need for these vital projects.