Urbana manufacturer gets grant as part of $42M expansion to add 46 jobs

ORBIS expansion would also retain 324 jobs, company told state in grant package.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission announced it has approved a $100,000 grant as part of a plan for a packaging company to expand its Urbana manufacturing facility.

ORBIS said that it plans to invest over $42 million into the Urbana facility, including $356,554 to expand the site’s rail infrastructure, which is part of the Indiana & Ohio Railway system owned by the West Central Ohio Port Authority.

The proposed expansion includes rehabilitating a rail siding that hasn’t seen rail traffic for “many years,” according to a release, as well as adding on about 50,000 square feet of space to house eight large injection machines.

ORBIS said that it will commit to creating 46 new jobs and retain 324 existing jobs at the Urbana facility, the release said.

ORBIS is a subsidiary of the Menasha Corporation and is a packaging manufacturing and consultation company. The facility in Urbana is one of its manufacturing facilities.

ORDC Executive Director Matthew Dietrich said, “We are happy to partner with WESTCO and the Dayton Development Coalition to assist ORBIS with their expansion plans. The rehabilitation of a siding that has been out of service for so many years increases capacity for ORBIS and improves the logistics of the facility.”

ORBIS plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion on Oct. 4.

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