Interprint Plans Additional ExpansionBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:06AM / Thursday, August 25, 2022 | |
Editor's note: we have been informed that the information provided during the presentation may not be correct. This information was given during a public meeting recorded by PCTV and was the basis for an approved permit. This article will be updated or rewritten when as needed and marked as such when further information is provided.
The L-shaped plant will be filled in (see the yellow) with a 57,500-square foot addition. That area, below, is partially used for parking that will be pushed farther back.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Interprint is planning a fourth expansion of its Route 41 facility to increase production capacity.
Last week, the Community Development Board approved an amendment to its site plan that allows an approximately 57,500 square foot addition to the rear of the building.
The original decor printing facility was built in 2001 at around 131,000 square feet within a 78-acre property on Central Berkshire Boulevard. An addition was built on the back of the building in 2008 and additions were also added in 2016 and 2017.
The petition had been in the works for over a year.
"The reason that they're doing this is because they need to increase their production capacity and keep up with the products that they're making," project architect Timothy Eagles said.
"They originally were proposing it — their parent company was proposing — doing it in another location and fortunately the folks in Pittsfield convinced them that Pittsfield was the place to do it operationally for them as well as for continuity of their product and everything else."
The addition will fill in a back corner of the building where there is currently parking. The parking will be relocated behind the addition. The site will have 158 parking spaces after the construction, which exceeds its requirement of 130 spaces.
Board member Libby Herland observed that the site plan has been amended several times over the years.
"I'm just wondering whether we are going to keep amending and amending and amending this plan," she said. "It looks like you're kind of filling up the space but I'm just kind of wondering about that."
Eagles reported that the company doesn't have any plans that he has heard of.
"I really appreciate the fact that this business is here and it's doing well and that's great that they need to expand," Herland said. "I just, I will always really prefer not to see these piecemeal incremental adjustments to the site."
There was also some discussion on tree planting as it relates to the project and the wetlands that surround the facility.
Interprint is a worldwide leader in décor design and printing for the decorative laminate, furniture, case goods, and flooring industries.
Last year, it announced an investment of $7 million in the facility, which includes the new printing press that is expected to be operational in early 2023.
The company is expected to have more than 200 employees by the end of 2022. It was reported that its expect to employ 195 people when the addition is completed.
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