A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Monday for a 50,000-square-foot addition to the Blair Rubber Co. that will nearly double the size of the plant by next spring.
Blair Rubber manufactures corrosion-resistant rubber linings for tanks and other containment vessels used by a variety of industries.
Founded in 1981 in Copley Township, in Summit County, Blair Rubber was purchased in 2001 by IKO, of Canada. In 2006, the company moved into a new 52,000-square-foot building, 5020 Panther Parkway.
The expansion is needed to keep up with demand, Nalex Cordova, director of sales and marketing, said at Monday’s groundbreaking.
“We have just about doubled our production over the last three years,” he said.
Blair Rubber has 77 employees, but expects to hire more after the expansion is completed in spring 2015.
JBA Architects, of Newark, designed the expansion and EM Construction, a division of Beacon Marshall Cos., of Bath, is the general contractor.