Seaman announces $7.5 million capital plan

Government support credited in plan that creates new jobs

Citing support from the state of Ohio and the city of Wooster, Seaman Corp. announced plans for a $7.5 million capital investment program in a Nov. 1 press release. The plan is expected to protect current employment levels and add more jobs in the near future, according to the release.

Seaman, with manufacturing facilities in both Wooster, Ohio, and Bristol, Tenn., is a global supplier of high-performance fabrics and geomembranes for lining, roofing, truck tarp, dock seals and doors, and other applications.

The press release noted that the company currently employs about 150 people in Wooster, and figures to add about 12 more as a result of the new investment. While some new jobs will be in manufacturing, most will be in research and development, new business exploration, and sales.

The Bristol plant employs about 145 people in manufacturing, while the company also has about 25 more sales and technical support employees in national and global locations, the release said.

“We are very grateful to the Ohio governor’s office and administration, as well as the city of Wooster, for their very defined, aggressive approach to see that our investment in jobs stays in Ohio,” said Richard N. Seaman, chairman and CEO of Seaman Corp.

The capital program is funded with a low-interest state loan for about $3 million, supplemented with conventional financing and savings from a 10-year abatement amounting to 50% on new real estate taxes from the city of Wooster. Previously, members of the Wooster Board of Education, the primary beneficiary of local real estate tax money, had endorsed the abatement, according to the press release.