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Vacant Rexam plant sold
Friday, January 13, 2006
BY DAVID A. SMITH
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American

TORRINGTON -- A Watertown manufacturer has bought the second of the former Rexam Cosmetic Packaging Inc. of 46,000 square feet on 12 acres.

Screen-Tech Inc., a maker of equipment used by manufacturers of plastic cosmetic packaging, closed Tuesday on its deal to buy the vacant Rexam plant at 230 Ella Grasso Ave. in the industrial park near the city's Burrville section. The company expects to be up and running there by the end of February, said David Butkevich, Screen-Tech's president.

"This is a huge expansion for us," said Butkevich, who founded the company 28 years ago in Watertown. "The acquisition came about because we were able to buy out one of our competitors in New Jersey. With that acquisition in September, we needed to expand."

The move is good news for Torrington and the rest of the Northwest Corner, which has seen major manufacturers such as Rexam and Nidec America Corp. in Torrington, as well as BE Aerospace Inc. in Litchfield, Executive Greetings Inc. in New Hartford and Coats North America in Watertown, shut down in recent years. Though other local firms, such as Torrington's Wittmann Inc. and Borgeson Universal Co. Inc., have expanded, the loss of those employers alone cost the region more than 800 local jobs.

The company builds equipment that manufacturers of plastic cosmetic packaging use in making their products, such as caps, containers and other items.

In September, the company bought the assets of Acromark Industries Inc., which also built similar hot-stamping equipment that applies colors and metallic coverings cosmetics packaging and other products. That move brought Screen-Tech additional equipment, customers and markets, putting the company among the top three of such firms in the United States, Butkevich said.