ABC opens new packaging department

This article is brought to you by The Bryan Times.

By Lucas Bechtol Ibechtol@bryantimes.com

Apr 17, 2022

Megan Cupps, left, and Maria Diaz package SPAX brand fasteners at Altenloh, Brinck & Co. US, Inc's new packaging location in Pioneer. The facility was built last year and the department moved there in February prior to a ribbon cutting Thursday.

PIONEER — Packaging for Altenloh, Brinck & Co. US, Inc. (ABC) has officially moved to a new facility in Pioneer, opening up the Bryan location for expansion into training.

ABC, based in Germany, is a roof fastener manufacturer and distributor with two major brands: TRUFAST, which is primarily used by construction contractors, and SPAX, which is mainly used by homeowners.

Production still goes on at the Bryan facility, located at 2105 County Road 12.C, right at the intersection of U.S. 6. But with heat treatment and coating happening in Pioneer with the help of Reifel Industries, ABC officials decided it was best to move the packaging department to Pioneer, too.

“We’ve consolidated multiple rooms originally in Bryan and moved them all to one location here in Pioneer,” Allyn Luce, vice president of manufacturing, said during a ribbon cutting Thursday. “We have one additional piece of equipment in transit that we purchased out of Europe for fully automated packaging and several new lines in process to help with improvement in ergonomics, labor and staffing.”

The building is built to grow, he continued, with further migration of distribution planned into Pioneer.

Treatment, coating, packaging and distribution would all be under the same roof in Pioneer.

“What that will do is free up space in Bryan as we continue to add equipment, add a training center, add additional staff in Bryan, then, for supporting manufacturing product,” Luce said. “The long-term goal is that we manufacture in Bryan and then all the secondary operations would be here in Pioneer.”

Construction began on the new location last year with the official ribbon cutting happening on Thursday.

The plan was put on paper in 2017 and equipment started moving during the first week of February.

“They’ve been settled in here about two months,” Luce said.

Luce said they moved almost all the packaging employees from Bryan to Pioneer and have nine openings for the department.

Rich Hazelton, packaging department manager, said they’ve added five to 10 new employees since starting in Pioneer, which has been a great move for the department.

“The involvement from the community, helping with the lighting in the parking lot across the street, interaction has been great for Pizza Barn, it’s been great doing business with them,” he said. “The local hardware (store) has been there in a pinch for us a couple of times. It’s been fantastic.”

Luce thanked the owners of Reifel Industries, who have helped and supported them throughout the endeavor.

The location is connected to the Reifel building and ABC leases out the location from them.