We are thrilled to announce that we broke ground on our new manufacturing and office facility on November 4, 2021, at Craighead Technical Park in Jonesboro, Arkansas. But this is about more than a groundbreaking ceremony for a big construction project. It is a testament to the strength and commitment of the Camfil APC team to successfully keep our company operational and our customers happy after a tornado devastated our manufacturing facility in March 2020 and another damaged our temporary plant on December 10, 2021.
Since the first tornado hit, we’ve been manufacturing our industrial dust collectors out of three separate leased locations throughout Jonesboro. Through the hard work and determination of our employees, support from Camfil and help from community and state leaders, the reality of our new state-of-the-art facility is within reach. It is scheduled to open in August 2022.
A $37 MILLION INVESTMENT
Camfil plans to invest more than $37 million in the 290,000-square-foot facility that will occupy 34 acres. It will be built to the global Camfil standard from the ground up, making this a complete greenfield project rather than additions to existing facilities. This allows us to build the facility to best suit the manufacturing process of our modular-design industrial dust collectors and meet customers’ demands more quickly. And much to everyone’s delight, the facility will be completely air conditioned for those hot, humid Jonesboro days.
Production areas will include fabrication, weld, paint, equipment assembly and filter assembly. The overall layout will enable better flow to move more efficiently from raw materials to finished products. This means we’ll have the capability to manufacture dust collectors and meet customer demand even more quickly than before.
STATE-OF-THE-ART FILTER ASSEMBLY
The new filter assembly lines and automation systems will improve output and capacity while maintaining our quality and functional design. We will produce our Gold Cone™ filter cartridges and replacement filters for other brands of dust collectors, both featuring our proprietary HemiPleat® filter media. We will also produce certain filters for Camfil Power Systems.
Customers will be able to visit the facility to see filters being manufactured so they can see the intricacy of the process and all the product detail. They will also learn first-hand from our experts how our filters work best in their applications and in our equipment.
We are also adding a test rig/system that will let us test our filters and collector components at extreme temperatures. And, we will continue to maintain a fully equipped test lab that provides bench dust testing and ASHRAE Standard 199 testing.
The new space also will enable us to resume our quarterly and yearly training sessions. These educational classes are important for our employees, customers and representatives of our products because they instruct on how to properly protect people, facilities and the environment with our line of products.
In addition, the new facility will house the engineering, quality control, continuous improvement, safety, accounting, marketing, sales, human resources, production control, purchasing, customer service and technical support departments, as well as warehousing and shipping.
COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY
Camfil APC has been headquartered in Jonesboro for more than 20 years. This new project will add about 67 new jobs within five years to an existing workforce of 237 people. The people of Jonesboro have been key to the success of Camfil APC, and we are honored to continue to thrive here and to contribute to local economic growth.
Likewise, the city and state appreciate Camfil’s commitment to the area. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston spoke at the groundbreaking and acknowledged our investment in the region and our employees.
Also speaking at the groundbreaking was Mark Young, President of Jonesboro Unlimited, a private partnership organization dedicated to advancing economic prosperity in Jonesboro and the region. He noted that the reinvestment Camfil is making in this new facility speaks volumes to the relationships we have built and our continued commitment to the region.
We look forward to the next phases of this project, and we’ll keep you updated on the progress. In the meantime, if you have any questions about our industrial dust and fume collectors, replacement filters or accessories, please contact us.
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Media contact:
veronica.trimarchi@camfil.com