SYRACUSE — Polywood, which turns plastics including milk jugs and detergent bottles into outdoor furniture, announced plans to expand its operations in Kosciusko County, adding 95 jobs.
The company, which already has hired 157 new employees this year, plans to build a production facility at its Syracuse campus. The change will add 95 jobs by the end of 2023.
Polywood is investing nearly $42.8 million over the next five years to construct and equip a 369,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on its campus at West Brooklyn Street in Syracuse, adding a recycle line and 30 extrusion lines. The new facility will allow it to meet growing customer demand for its all-weather furniture product lines. Construction will begin this month, and the company expects the new facility to be operational by fall of 2021.
"We are excited about expanding our operations in Syracuse, Indiana because of the quality of work ethic we find in our employees from the greater Syracuse and Kosciusko county area," Doug Rassi, CEO of Polywood, said in the release.
The company, which currently employs 600 in Indiana and 775 nationwide, will be hiring for numerous positions in the next three to eight months. Positions will be available for all shifts in operations, shipping, and for professional office positions. Interested applicants may apply online at www.polywood.com/careers.
Polywood started operations out of a garage in Syracuse in 1990 and has grown into a nationwide business that serves popular retailers including Target, Amazon, Home Depot and Wayfair. Founded by Rassi and Mark Phillabaum, the company specializes in making heirloom-quality, durable outdoor furniture made from recycled plastic that withstands all weather conditions. Polywood has an on-site recycling facility that recycles an average of 400,000 milk jugs per day.
“We are thrilled that leaders of Polywood are continuing to grow their operations in our community with this significant investment,” Syracuse Redevelopment Commission president and Town Council member Larry Siegel said in the release. “POLYWOOD is a homegrown success story and this announcement is an economic development case study of how we work hard to support local employers.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Poly-Wood LLC up to $2.5 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans to create up to 252 by the end of 2023. The IEDC also offered up to $200,000 in conditional tax credits from the Hoosier Business Investment (HBI) tax credit program based on the company’s planned capital investment in Indiana. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired and investments are made. The Syracuse Council approved additional incentives with the support of the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp.
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