MSA opens new facility at Cranberry HQ
CRANBERRY TWP — MSA unveiled on Friday a new 20,000-square foot manufacturing facility, an addition to its 320-acre Cranberry Woods campus.
The facility, located next to the global headquarters of Cranberry-based MSA Safety Inc., will primarily manufacture fixed gas and flame detection products as the business gains market share in its core product lines.
MSA now produces more than one-third of the global revenue associated with fixed gas and flame detection products after acquiring New Kensington-based Bacharach Inc. in July.
Much of the assembly work in the new facility will be related to product lines MSA will relocate the manufacture of from California to Cranberry. Nish Vartanian, MSA CEO, said the relocation of that assembly will aid in the development and manufacture of those products, as there are about 300 skilled factory workers and more than 200 engineers working on gas detection products in Cranberry alone.
“Collectively, those benefits position MSA to better meet the needs of our customers while creating an opportunity to bring additional manufacturing jobs to western Pennsylvania over the years ahead,” he added.
The mid-morning ribbon-cutting ceremony also featured local officials such as Butler County Commissioners Chairwoman Leslie Osche and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Both Osche and Fitzgerald stressed the importance of manufacturing jobs in the area.
MSA on Friday also celebrated the company's workers for spending 10 million days without a lost-time accident. A company spokesman said MSA treated those workers to a socially distanced, outdoor lunch in recognition of the five years of lost-time accident-free work.
