Florida
Tile says it will expand its workforce in Kentucky by more than 26-percent by
year end. The expansion will support the company’s state-of-the-art
manufacturing facility in Lawenceburg as well as its new corporate headquarters
in Lexington, the company notes.
According to company president Michael Franceschelli, “This
announcement is another in Florida Tile’s kept promises made more than two
years ago to our partners in this venture, the community, county, state and federal
officials, when we officially moved our operations from Florida to Kentucky.”
“At that time,” he said, “the company purchased and invested
more than $15 million to ‘recycle‘ a once-dormant manufacturing plant in
Lawrenceburg, thus creating a modern porcelain tile facility and utilizing a
continuous ball mill, one of only three worldwide.”
“That economy-of-scale investment has allowed Florida Tile to
not only maximize its high-quality, high-capacity production but also to
simultaneously grow our environmental programs to include a $150,000 investment
in a proprietary scrap tile crushing process announced late this summer which
virtually eliminates all tile waste disposal and increases recycled content in
all Florida Tile products manufactured in Lexington.”
During the summer, Florida Tile also moved its corporate
headquarters to a brand new facility in Lexington.
“Despite economic conditions, it is clear that demand for the
quality and leading-edge tile fashions produced by Florida Tile is driving this
need for workers, despite our high level of automation,” Franceschelli said.
“What this tells us is that there are customers looking for quality products
and appealing designs, despite the economic headlines to the contrary.”