Hedwin, best known perhaps for its Cubitainer, produces containers for cosmetics, food, pharma and more.
Here and there
The manufacturer has operated out of Baltimore, Maryland, since the company was founded in 1946. Now, The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that “Zacros America will move its Hedwin division, along with 154 manufacturing jobs, from Baltimore to Newark, Delaware.”
The decision to relocate the Hedwin facility was financially motivated. The Delaware Economic Development Office approved close to $885,000 in performance and capital expenditure grants for the company.
“We felt that Delaware wanted to promote manufacturing more than the other options we were considering,” says Maurice LeCompte, COO of Hedwin. The company was reportedly exploring Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania locations. “We also saw the greatest potential for a strong partnership with the state [of Delaware] and its business community,” LeCompte continued.
The move could be completed as soon as December of this year, reports The News Journal. When it is, Hedwin will occupy a leased 182,000-square-foot facility that was previously home to Kubetech Custom Moulding headquarters.
Human resources
Until last year Hedwin was an employee-owned company and, in 2013, had sales of $43.5m, according to The New Journal.
300 people work for Hedwin at the Baltimore site. Significantly fewer will staff the Delaware plant. "A few employees with high-level technical expertise will be making the move, but the majority of those 154 jobs will be filled here in Delaware," Bernice Whaley, deputy director of DEDO, told that publication.
"If and when Hedwin decides to add more jobs, they will be tapping into a workforce that is well-trained and well-prepared," said Alan Levin, the director of DEDO. "And that's one of the reasons why they chose Delaware."
Under new ownership
In June of last year Zacros America Incorporated purchased the Hedwin Corporation for $22.2m, following approval from bankruptcy court that also made allowances to transfer the company’s existing customer contracts to the new owner.
The Japan-based packaging and films corporation Fujimori Kogyo owns Zacros America and has partnered with Hedwin for decades.
Together the two companies will have “opportunities for rapid new product development, collaborative manufacturing programs, global technology transfer and business expansion, as well as reduced product cost through economies of scale,” promised a letter to Hedwin customers once the acquisition was final.