BY STEPHEN DREW
Independent Editor

GAPI USA, currently located at the Dayton International Airport, has become the first business to commit to building within the second phase of Englewood's I-70/West Commercial Park.

The distributor of GAPI 0-rings and PTFE (teflon) products that are manufactured in Italy broke ground Monday on a 31,500 square foot distribution center at 300 Huls Drive, and Michael Broderick, GAPI General Manager, hopes to be in the new building in January of next year.

"We are a wholesale distributor," said Broderick. "All of our supplies are manufactured in Italy and are now being shipped to Vandalia. From there we distribute our product to other distributors throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico."

Although the company is 35 years old, GAPI began operating out of the airport site in 1988, and soon discovered it needed additional room. Within a few years the original 10,000 square foot facility became nearly 20,000.

However, Broderick said the site in Englewood will not only provide enough room for future expansion but may also house manufacturing equipment if the company wishes to produce its product in the states. GAPI has purchased 51/2 acres with the option of purchasing additional land if needed, said Broderick.

At their current site, GAPI handles approximately 30 million O-rings per month, which, along with the teflon tubes, sheets, rods and tapes, are brought in via plane in large quantities At the distribution center the product is broken down. In Italy, GAPI produces about 15 million O-rings per day, according to Broderick.

GAPI's 16 employees will be moving with the company to their Englewood site.

According to Broderick, the decision to locate in Englewood was due in part to the 1-70/West Commercial Park providing an ideal spot from which GAPI could distribute its product, and it also provided a central location for employees. Plus, Broderick said Englewood's "pro-business attitude" was also a factor in the move.

Englewood Development Director Jeff Bothwell said there has been substantial interest in Phase II of the industrial park, and he is pleased with the variety of businesses the site has attracted. "It runs the gamut," said Bothwell. "We have small warehousing, food packaging, plastic injection molding and now ()-rings," he said. "Just as importantly, we're getting businesses that have the potential to grow with us (the city). That's the type of growth we're interested in."

Document last modified -