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Huntington-based Richwood Industries has a plan to expand and consolidate its Huntington locations under one roof in the former CW building in the Paul Coffey Industrial Park near Ashland within the next three to four years, according to company officials. This is a 27-acre campus with over 140,000 square feet of production and office space.
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Huntington-based Richwood Industries has a plan to expand and consolidate its Huntington locations under one roof in the former CW building in the Paul Coffey Industrial Park near Ashland within the next three to four years, according to company officials. This is a 27-acre campus with over 140,000 square feet of production and office space.
HUNTINGTON — Huntington-based Richwood Industries says it’s expanding and consolidating its operations to Ashland.
Richwood, which has been in Huntington since it was founded in 1976, designs and manufactures products for the material handling industry and has clients around the globe.
“The expansion to Ashland is a long-term project that is expected to take three to four years,” said Lorrie Spence, senior manager of corporate identity for Richwood, who responded to email questions from The Herald-Dispatch.
The property was purchased in the first quarter of this year, Spence said.
“It will require a lot of updates to make it workable for our business,” she added.
Richwood provides conveyor accessories and offers services to help customers optimize productivity in bulk material handling. Products include conveyor belt cleaners; conveyor belt impact bed protection; conveyor belt material containment; conveyor pulley lagging; wear liners; chute heaters; level monitors; rubber screen cloths and various accessories.
“We looked in WV, OH and KY to find a place that would suit our needs,” Spence said in one of the email responses. “The Ashland location seems to be a place large enough for our expansion plans. It is the former CW building in the Paul Coffey Industrial Park. This is a 27-acre campus with over 140,000 square feet of production and office space.”
There was a local effort to keep Richwood in Huntington, according to the city’s mayor Steve Williams.
“I had several conversations with the company and attempted to explore what the city could do or offer to persuade them to stay,” Williams said. “I told them their history in Huntington is important and I wanted to do whatever was necessary to get them to stay. Unfortunately, there was nothing we would or could offer them to dissuade them from their decision to move. I was told that the real estate deal that they made was such that they could not walk away from it.”
Williams said he asked what Kentucky offered, but was told nothing.
“It was a pure real estate transaction that enables Richwood to consolidate all their operations into one location,” he said. “I wanted to offer property at ACF and they indicated their deal was done and they don’t walk away from their word.”
Spence said the Ashland site is the most suitable for the company’s goal to continue to grow Richwood’s operations and be more efficient.
“For example, many of our products contain components from each separate factory, having it all in one place will shorten the production cycle,” she said. “We have four locations in Huntington. It will also allow for more frequent and flexible communication between departments. Continued efficiency will positively impact our customers and continued growth will serve to increase the number of employees needed.”
Richwood’s footprint in Huntington includes a corporate office at West 7th Street, which houses the bulk of the offices. There is also a fabrication shop with a shipping department. There is a machine shop on West 6th Street, a rubber shop on 8th Avenue, and a foundry on Pleasant Valley Drive.
“Huntington has been a great home to us for 47 years and we have nothing but good things to say about the city,” Spence said.
Richwood currently has a staff of 216, according to Spence, but it also has direct sales team members in different states.
“We also have a non-production building on Madison Avenue that is used for training purposes and houses our show displays,” Spence said. “Our employees currently come from the Tri-State area, we don’t think that there will be much change in that due to change of location.”
Richwood’s plan is to consolidate everything under one roof in Ashland.
“If that location is capable of housing that much production, plus room for growth, which is yet to be determined, then it will be consolidated to the Ashland location,” she said. “For now, it looks like some of the foundry operations will start heading to Kentucky sometime in 2023.”
Richwood Quality Manager Patrick Stanley said consolidation will allow for growth.
“The consolidation of the Richwood campuses to a single location in Kentucky will help to improve the already outstanding quality manufacturing that our customers have come to recognize and appreciate, and it will also allow us to continue being active members of the Tri-State community as we grow,” Stanley said.
“Richwood’s move to consolidate multiple factories and departments into one facility can be summed up in a quote from John D. Rockefeller, ‘Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great,’” said Ryan Jarrell, senior manager of production and facilities at Richwood. “We are a leader in our industry, and with this consolidation, we will further our mission to manufacture premium conveyor accessories and provide professional on-site product services to our valued clients.”
Spence the company will continue its charitable giving in Huntington.
“One thing that is important to us is community involvement and charitable giving. This is employee led, so we give to what is of interest to our folks. For example, we had a fundraiser for the local animal shelter this spring with employee donations and a matching gift from Richwood. I don’t foresee this expansion changing any of that. Donations that we make in Huntington will continue to be part of our giving plan,” Spence said.
Richwood was founded by Richard D. Stoll. Today, Judd Roseberry, president and CEO, and his wife, Christine Roseberry, are the sole owners.
“Our mission has always been to partner with our clients, developing relationships built on mutual respect and trust. Our products and services are well known for creating greater efficiencies in our client’s operations,” said Judd Roseberry. “In the same way, this expansion will help us continue to improve efficiency and enable further growth. This benefits our valued employees as well as our partners around the globe.”
Fred Pace is the business reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him at Facebook.com/FredPaceHD and via Twitter @FredPaceHD.
Fred has been in the newspaper industry for 30+ years. He continues to be excited to bring readers news that only comes thru local journalism. “Being able to share the passion felt by entrepreneurs in our community with readers is exciting,” he said.
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