DUSHORE, Pa. — More jobs are on the way to Sullivan County. UnityLab, a company that manufactures and distributes commercial appliances, moved its headquarters to a 76,000-square-foot factory outside Dushore and is now looking to expand.
The company makes heavy-load capacity washers and dryers and industrial presses often used in hotels, dry cleaners, and large farms.
CEO Jonathan Benjamin says this area was the perfect place to set up shop.
"I think what we had here is a starting of an old-school incubator where you have 30 years of experience in welding and all the hardcore trades. Ultimately, as we bring more people and young people into this business, they can learn from the past generation and pass some of that on. We saw that in this area, it was very deep in this area, so because of that, we knew this was a great place to get going," Benjamin said.
The factory will soon be transformed into a more modern workspace, enough to bring on 150 more workers. It comes as the company receives a more than $4 million in investments through the Pennsylvania Rural Jobs and Investment Tax Credit Program.
"We believe that capital changes lives and that work and the opportunity to work and entrepreneurial opportunity are the most important thing for a community. UnityLab is a quintessential example of exactly that," said Ryan Dressler from investment firm Advantage Capital.
Dressler says the new jobs could give new life to the surrounding community.
"In a town of 450, roughly, to add 150 jobs, everybody is going to have a family member that works here or is one degree removed from this business," Dressler said.
"Everything from production, to welding, to assembly and quality control. Engineering, skill jobs in the office, it's pretty much a little bit of everything," Benjamin said. "We moved our operations here from the northeast because we knew we had an opportunity to grow across all fronts and add those jobs in this location."
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