Pictured (L-R, back to front): Miranda Bell, Billy Mitchell, Ramiro Meza, Caleb Rhodes, Corey Williams, Ronnie Carpenter, Justin Gaither, PJ Thorson, Kurt Church, Reid Trimm, James Boyd, Mark Lamb, and Brad Drew
Eight Prinsco manufacturing locations dotted the U.S. from the Midwest to the west until October 2023 when construction began for a 65,000 square foot plant to put a ninth manufacturing facility on the map. The new location is 200 miles south of Atlanta and 200 miles north of Orlando, nestled into 32 acres of thick southern woods, just east of Valdosta, Georgia. From an aerial view – it’s an impressive expanse of an operation. Nearly one mile of railroad with two private rail sidings provides significant material storage capacity to compliment the facility. “This really places Prinsco in the heart of the rapidly growing southeast market,” shared Joe Larkins, Director of Process Technology at Prinsco. The growth will allow the company to better serve its customers as it manufactures and distributes plastic pipe for water management solutions.
The plant represents an exciting milestone in Prinsco’s manufacturing journey. “This line will have our first robotic downstream processing system, which is designed to cut, trim, install gaskets, and rotate the pipe for easy palletizing and bundling,” said Joe. “The plant will run two manufacturing lines with production capability of our 4”-60” dual wall pipe, and we’ll have enough space to increase capacity in the future also.”
Prinsco’s Valdosta team is at the heart of making it all happen.
“Kurt Church, our new plant manager, is a fantastic addition to the Prinsco team,” shared Jen Dailey, Prinsco’s Vice President of Human Resources. “He’s especially focused on safety and culture.”
Kurt quickly tips his hat to the employees. “I believe this team embodies both the grit and grace needed to increase efficiency, create the best quality pipe, and enhance the company – all while maintaining a great sense of enthusiasm, pride, and safety going into producing every stick that leaves the Valdosta yard. Working to assemble this team has been very rewarding.”
The construction of the Valdosta facility has received an overwhelming amount of support from the internal Prinsco teams, too. “It’s been a major factor in the motivation that the Valdosta team must make this a well-run operation,” shared Kurt. “We’ve brought in diverse skills and perspectives, which leads to richer collaboration and creativity for the Prinsco team.”
The surrounding community has been very supportive and intrigued by the entrance of a new company to the area. “We have been super excited to help bring Prinsco to Valdosta, but also Valdosta to Prinsco,” Kurt said.
The plant and both production lines are slated to be fully operational this November. We say “thank you” to all involved, those in Georgia and Prinsco teams from states away, for being an integral part of our journey towards a brighter future, where Prinsco continues to make a big impact in the lives of its customers and employees!
Note: The plant and team members are all safe after the recent hurricane – loss of power, but no loss of life. We are so grateful for that favorable outcome!
