Atlantis Industries moves to Delaware Coastal Business Park
In March, Sussex County officials spent $2.2 million to add 74 acres to Sussex County Industrial Park, demonstrating their optimism for the future of light manufacturing in the Cape Region.
By the end of January, Atlantis Industries will become the first tenant to occupy the expanded area, bringing 35 full-time employees from the company’s site in Milton.
A spokesperson for the company, which manufactures plastic-injection molding for products used in a variety of sectors, views the move as a smart step to meet the needs of regional customers.
“One of the biggest advantages is being central to our primary customer base,” said Atlantis Industries General Manager Chuck McClure. “With the exception of a couple of customers, we are within a one-day drive to them. This allows us to provide another level of customer service and respond quickly to changing needs.”
The 74 new acres in the park previously comprised the King Farm, which Sussex County purchased in order to offer space to 10 to 12 new tenants, in addition to the 20 businesses that already employ about 900 people at the industrial park. The complex has now been renamed the Delaware Coastal Business Park and is adjacent to Delaware Coastal Airport.
Atlantis is moving to the park after 40 years of operations in Milton, where it has produced plastic parts used in the military, medical, automotive, consumer and industrial markets in a 35,000-square-foot space. Its products range from underbody panels on cars, to plastic restaurant tumblers that can be found at the Miltonian restaurant in Milton. Atlantis also produces parts used by companies such as ILC Dover, a Frederica-based maker of products for the pharmaceutical, aerospace and bulk packaging industries.
Atlantis constructed a new, 40,000-square-foot production facility in the park. The workforce at the new site will initially remain the same as in Milton, but McClure said Atlantis expects to add more jobs by the end of 2018 or early in 2019.
According to Sussex County Communications Director Chip Guy, Atlantis may soon have new neighbors at the park.
“The county is currently in negotiations with one interested tenant, with the hope of securing the second lease shortly,” he said. “We have also had several inquiries, including from one group out of Virginia looking to expand its current enterprise,” Guy said, noting company representatives flew in to meet with county representatives to discuss the park.
Guy said other light-manufacturing operations may look favorably on the site because it is shovel-ready, with infrastructure in the ground, and also offers limited permit review. “The goal is to offer a site and review process that allows businesses to get off the ground faster and be up and running sooner,” Guy said.
