When Tyco International Ltd. and Dana Corp. announced plans last year to close warehouses and lay off hundreds of workers, Mary Justh worried those employees would have a tough time finding new jobs during the economic slowdown.
On Feb. 19, Justh, secretary and treasurer of Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, received some reassuring news: a West Hartford, Conn.-based designer, manufacturer and seller of electrical products plans to open a 220,000-square-foot regional distribution center in her municipality. It will create 100 new jobs for the Harrisburg area.
Wiremold Co. signed its lease for space in Crossroads Commerce Center Feb. 14, said Adam Meinstein, president of Equilibrium Equities Inc. His New York City-based company, along with Conewago Contractors Inc. of Hanover, York County, are the coowners and developers of Crossroads, a 500,000-square-foot distribution center.
Meinstein declined to disclose the terms of the deal, except to say it is a long-term agreement. Wiremold expects to be up and running in Crossroads this summer, he said.
On Dec. 4, Dana said it planned to close its distribution center in Middlesex Township by the end of May. At the time of the company's announcement, 157 employees worked at the warehouse in the Roadway Industrial Park off U.S. Route 11.
They will all lose their jobs once the plant is closed.
On Feb. 12, Tyco International of Bermuda closed one of its former AMP plants on Harrisburg Pike in Carlisle, Cumberland County, a spokeswoman said. That plant, which had been a light manufacturing operation, was converted to a warehouse after Tyco bought AMP in April 1999, Justh said. The plant employed more than 100 workers at one time, she said.
Founded in 1900, Wiremold plans to relocate its current operations from Memphis, Tenn., Meinstein said. The company's products consist mainly of wire and cable management, power and data quality products and data/communications connectivity systems.
Wiremold plans to make approximately 25 truck trips per day, including inbound and outbound trips, Meinstein said. That is a modest volume for a facility of its size, he said.
Of the 220,000 square feet the company has leased, it will use all but 5,000 square feet for distribution operations, Meinstein said. Those 5,000 square feet will be converted into office space, he added.
A representative of Wiremold did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Wiremold will join Genco Distribution Systems in the industrial business park. Genco, a Pittsburgh-based logistics, warehousing and supply-chain management firm, is leasing 160,000 square feet in Crossroads.
Genco's manufacturing services division moved into the distribution center in October. The company is using its space to store products for Kraft Foods' Nabisco division.
The owners of Crossroads had hoped to have the industrial business park fully leased by early 2002. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, prospective tenants have been slower to commit to leases, Meinstein said. Now, he hopes to have the property fully leased by the end of this year.
"We have had inquiries from companies interested in leasing space," Meinstein said "But there are no active negotiations on the balance of the building."
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