Kenson Plastics has been a staple of Western Pennsylvania since the 1970s and the business’ next chapter will transpire in Chippewa Township. The high-precision machine shop’s new home will be located next to the Municipal Building. It is scheduled to move in early 2019.
The Principal Officers of the company, Chris, David, and Patrick O’Leary are not strangers to Chippewa Township. They grew up in Patterson Township, attended Blackhawk School District, and now live in Beaver. The brothers are also not strangers to the manufacturing industry. Chris and David worked at their grandfather’s company, Tuscarora Inc., which manufactured packaging materials.
After the sale of Tuscarora, Chris attended the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and worked on Wall Street until the Great Recession in 2008. As Chris watched people clear out their offices after the stock market crashed, Dave called him and inquired if he would be interested in purchasing a business he found on the internet. To Chris, it just felt like the right move.
The business they bought was a high-precision machine shop that converted plastic into parts for medical devices, such as the plastic surround of an x-ray machine. However, the O’Leary brothers quickly realized the same skills required to manufacture these very complicated parts were applicable to simpler parts for other markets. For example, Kenson Plastics now manufactures tv consoles for the aerospace industry and plastic interior siding for public buses. The business is able to do additional services as well, such as painting the parts and assembling them.
“Over the last 10 years, we’ve had a lot of momentum. We started with a staff of 20 highly skilled workers and it’s grown to 80, and we just keep growing and hiring,” said Chris.
Since they purchased Kenson Plastics in 2008, the business outgrew its original home that was 1,500 SF and its second home in Zelienople that was 5,500 SF.
“Moving to our new facility in Chippewa Township is huge for us. Our current building puts the business at risk because space is a real constraint. Now we’ll have 7,500 SF and 10 acres, so if we need more room we can build the infrastructure,” Chris explained. “It’s a tremendous opportunity…it’s what dreams are made of.”
The building was originally constructed to be a business incubator. When that plan fell through, the building was purchased by the Beaver County Corporation of Economic Development.
“I can’t say enough about how helpful and supportive Jim Palmer, President of BCCED, and Mark Taylor, Chippewa Township Manager, were throughout the whole process. Everyone was trying to make this work,” Chris said.
Chippewa Township was a natural fit for Kenson Plastics as the business already employs many people from Beaver County.
“It’s a win-win for the community because there aren’t a lot of manufacturing jobs in the area, so it’s a unique employment opportunity,” Chris said. “We run three shifts a day and the jobs are union, so it isn’t just a job, it’s a good job.”
“We feel very fortunate about the opportunity to be a part of the Chippewa Township community,” Chris expressed, “We’re making our best efforts to make the transition a smooth one.”
