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BRT Extrusions, Open 6 Weeks, Looks to Expand Work Force"
By George NelsonNILES, Ohio -- Up and operating just six weeks, BRT Extrusions Inc. is already looking to expand its operations and making plans to double its work force by adding second and third shifts over the next few months.BRT, a start-up in the Niles Industrial Park on former Republic Steel property, was the site of a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday morning. Officials wielding scissors included Mayor Ralph Infante, Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka and representatives of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.BRT extrudes aluminum products used in the construction industry, including doors, windows and lighting fixtures. The company primarily serves customers in the northeastern United States -- from Chicago to Vermont and south to Tennessee. Owners Roy Smith and William Fusco each have at least 20 years' experience in the business, Smith having supplied extruders with dies and Fusco having worked for two area aluminum extruders. BRT contracts with die makers in the area to supply dies used at the facility. "We're looking to start another shift in a couple weeks," said Fusco, vice president of operations. BRT has 25 employees and Fusco says his company plans to increase the work force to 40 by adding a second shift. "We definitely need the second shift now," added Roy Smith, BRT president. In a few months, BRT officials expect to introduce a third shift, a move that would raise employment to 50 or so. When fully up and running, Fusco projects BRT will ship more than 10 million pounds of extruded products annually.Walt Good, manager of the regional chamber's economic development action team, worked with Smith in evaluating where BRT could locate and identifying incentives for which the company is eligible. Some 18 aluminum extruding firms employ 2,000 locally, according to Good. That concentration results from their proximity to both suppliers of the aluminum billets and end users of the products, he said, as well as the supply of workers trained in extrusion processes.Area extrusion companies supply products for automotive, trucking and recreational-vehicle uses. As fuel costs rise, Good noted, aluminum is becoming more attractive for use in transportation products, even as engine components. Trumbull County gave the BRT a 75% property tax abatement that runs 10 years, the state extended the company an Ohio Job Creation tax credit that could be worth up to t $180,000 over seven years,and the city of Niles lent BRT $371,000 from its revolving loan fund to buy a 1,675-ton press.Contact George Nelson at [email protected]"