Forks Township Business Revives 15-year-old Plans

Follett Corp., a business, asked the Board of Supervisors last week -- again -- for permission to expand its plant.

That permission had already been granted -- back in 1999.

It was so long ago that Township Solicitor Karl Kline no longer had any files. Zoning Officer Tim Weis, however, dug up the original 1999 proposal.

Back then, Follett Corp., a manufacturer of commercial food service equipment such as icemakers, sought a plant expansion, an office addition, a vehicle loading area and changes to its parking lot.

All of that work was completed by 2004 when the company informed the township that it was going to put the rest -- a 25,000-square-foot plant expansion -- on hold.

Follet Facilities Manager Todd Albert said the company has now bounced back after tough economic times.

"We became industry leaders because of our world-class manufacturing techniques," Albert said.

In the past decade, the company's sales growth has tripled and it added 80 employees. The company has 275 employees.

"We're at the point where we are out of space," Albert said. "To go through the planning stages again would delay our efforts."

After nearly 15 years, the company is ready to move forward with the addition, said Andrew Bohl, an attorney representing the company.

Bohl requested the township reapprove the project and provide a three-year extension so work could be completed by 2015.

"Just because of the passage of time does not automatically mean the land development plan is no longer valid," Kline said. "Let them proceed."

The company will move forward with the design phase of the project before getting building permits.