Jepson Precision Tool, Inc., Erie County

“Without the building and loan program that you offer, our recent expansion would have been much more costly for our company and we would have been required to downsize the expansion that we so greatly need in order to serve our customers’ growing needs and to be able to employ additional staff in order to meet those needs. The tightening of profit in domestic manufacturing requires that we watch every penny to keep the bottom line in the black and your services and programs continue to allow us to ride on the positive side of the precipice for financial success.”

- Daniel Jepson, President

Woodcraft Industries, Mercer County

"Woodcraft Industries is looking forward to becoming a valuable member of the Greenville Community and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We will bring jobs that offer competitive wage and benefit packages to the area. We appreciate the cooperation that has made our start-up in Pennsylvania possible, especially the assistance we received from the Commonwealth and the Greenville-Reynolds Development Corp."

- John Fitzpatrick, President/CEO

International Timber and Veneer, Mercer County

"International Timber and Veneer selected Mercer County because of its proximity to Pennsylvania's high quality hardwoods, its location at Interstates 79 and 80, and access to a multi-county labor pool."

- Scott Edwards, General Manager

Optical Filters, Crawford County

“We looked at three locations in the United States and chose Meadville for a number of reasons. Firstly, we were impressed with the diversity and standard of manufacturing skill in the area, which is key to our business and secondly the tremendous assistance from MAIC, who played a key role in our final decision. They were extremely professional, very helpful and able to facilitate meetings with the right people from other public and private bodies as well as coordinating our search for suitable business premises. On our many visits to the area, we also found that the openness and willingness of the private business community to help a prospective new manufacturer was somewhat unique and certainly added to its attractiveness."

- Michael Dent, Chairman

The area's excellent workforce is a major reason for locating in the Clarion area. "Tarkett's manufacturing plant is automated and high-tech and needs a specific type of workforce to handle the job." Located close to Interstate 80, the plant is within a day's drive of 40 to 50 percent of the population of North America. Montreal, New York, Chicago, Atlanta. Local supplies of hardwood chips are another plus. Most flooring is made from softwoods, and using only hardwoods at the local plant will pay off over time, as hardwood fiberboard is a superior product.

Taken all together - workforce, geography, raw materials - the Clarion County location is "the only place in North America that can meet all these requirements."

- Jean Desautels, Clarion Boards General Manager
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