Falls-Based Color Company to Expand

A Cuyahoga Falls company founded here 70 years ago will expand its operations this fall, opening three manufacturing facilities on a more than 40-acre campus in Liberty, N.C.

Americhem Inc. began in 1941 as The Caldwell Co., which sold additives and pigments to the rubber industry. With its world headquarters located at 2000 Americhem Way in Cuyahoga Falls, the global provider of custom color and additive solutions for the polymer and synthetic-fibers industries has six manufacturing plants worldwide, including one at 155 E. Steels Corners Rd. that serves the automotive industry.

The Liberty campus, expected to begin production Oct. 1, is the company’s seventh expansion in the past five years. With three buildings on a combined total of 185,000 square feet, the site will be larger than any of the company’s existing plants and provides rail access, silo bays and a dedicated rail spur at the facility, said Americhem spokesperson Scott Blanchard.

“It’s a strategic location. We serve a number of different industries, and Liberty is located near them,” he said.

N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue said Americhem will bring 71 jobs to her state during the next three years through its $22.6-million investment in the Liberty campus, a project that was in part funded by a $225,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. The average annual wage of employees at the new site, not including benefits, will be $35,437 in a county where the average annual wage is $29,172, according to the governor’s website.

With approximately 170 employees at both its world headquarters and automotive manufacturing plant in Cuyahoga Falls, Americhem will continue its local operations.

“We’ve been here, at our current location, since 1965. The community is extremely important to us. Being here as long as we have, we feel a strong dedication to our community,” Blanchard said.

Americhem CEO Rick Juve said opening the N.C. site “will offer significant advantages” for its customers.

“We are optimistic about the future of the masterbatch and specialty compounding markets in North America. Americhem expects to achieve double-digit sales growth over the next several years and we’ll continue to focus on technology-based solutions that support our customers’ growth,” Juve said in a June 7 press release.

For more information, visit the company website.