Penn State Tool & Die Corp., a fixture in North Huntingdon Township for half a century, will relocate and consolidate all operations at its 6-year-old Westmoreland Industrial Park location in East Huntingdon Township within a year, following completion of a $1.2-plus million, 48,000-square-foot addition to the existing facility. The privately held firm, which provides precision machining capabilities to federal government and nuclear energy customers, is responding to changes occurring in its clients' businesses and in its own industry, said President Ralph Ciacco. "The systems we are working on are getting bigger and bigger, and we need long bays, the easy flow of material and space for cell manufacturing," said Ciacco, who joined Penn State Tool & Die following high school graduation in 1968. "Today, in this business you have to be a lean manufacturer and to undergo continuous improvement, and we just could not do that at North Huntingdon." The North Huntingdon facility, at 7590 Route 30, offers more than 40,000 square feet of primarily manufacturing space, but is landlocked, not offering room for significant expansion. The East Huntingdon facility, which now offers about 34,700 square feet of manufacturing space and 1,500 square feet of office space, is on 10.2 acres and has access to Route 119, Interstate 70, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and rail service. Once the ongoing expansion is complete, total manufacturing space will increase to 77,750 square feet, while office space will grow to 6,700 square feet. Employment, which now stands at 120, also may be growing, Ciacco said. "We may be adding new positions, but that depends on what the economy does," he said. "We're also looking at installing new equipment." Annual revenues at Penn State Tool & Die are in the $10 million to $12 million range, according to Ciacco. Plans call for having the addition under roof by the end of the year, with the relocation of equipment at North Huntingdon taking roughly a year to accomplish.

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