By Bryan Davis, Birmingham Business Journal
The Moody plant, which specializes in the production of fixtures, point-of-purchase and in-store merchandizing display options, was another victim of the Great Recession. Its customer base was suffering from the shock of the economic downturn.
But F. Dixon Brooke Jr., president and CEO of EBSCO Industries said after it was announced the Moody plant would soon expand by 100,000 square feet that the company is now experiencing near record growth.
“We’ve had very good growth since 2011,” Brooke said during an interview. “That’s fueled our need for expansion.”
The company now has double the workers it had three years ago, and the $5.1 million investment that will be made in Moody will bring seven new employees on board immediately.
The growth the company has experienced in the past three years is largely due to the economy’s recovery, Brooke said.
“Our customers began to look at new projects, and we won some of those projects,” Brooke said.
Brooke said the expansion will pave the way for more jobs in the future. “It provides a solid base for our future growth,” Brooke said, adding that engineering, sales and production jobs could be added as a result of the expansion.
Brooke said under the leadership of William Hudson, the St. Clair facility had the second best year in the company’s 67-year history in 2013.
“With that kind of performance and opportunity, moving forward, we thought it would be good to move forward with the expansion,” Brooke said.
Vulcan moved from West End to Moody in 1992.
Brooke said the town has been a good home for the company, and the expansion will ensure future success and a footprint in the region.
Original article: http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2014/06/24/brooke-vulcan-expansion-may-fuel-future-growth-in.html
