Craig Wells, with Butler Technologies on West Wayne Street, prepares a screen printing press on Sept. 19. The business has received a $500,000 grant, which it will match, to double its manufacturing space in Butler and hire additional employees. The September open house showed officials the facility and why the funding was needed. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle

Butler Technologies is looking to more than double its manufacturing space in Butler and hire additional employees using a state grant.

The business received a $500,000 grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and will use bank financing for the required match, said Tristan Tripodi, company president.

“Our goal is to expand our manufacturing capabilities,” said Tripodi, whose mother Nadine Tripodi founded the business 32 years ago with the late Bill Darney.

Butler Technologies is now using 10,000 square feet of its 14,000-square-foot facility on West Wayne Street for manufacturing. The expansion to adjacent property owned by the company will be a new building containing 18,000 square feet of manufacturing space, Tripodi said.

Butler Technologies on West Wayne Street has received a $500,000 grant, which it will match, to double its manufacturing space in Butler and hire additional employees. Butler Eagle photo

Work on the building is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2024, but a definite timeline has not been set. The grant money has to be spent in two years, he added.

The expanded manufacturing capability will mean expanding the company workforce, which is about 80 now, he said.

“We are limited by our space,” Tripodi said.

Roll-to-roll printing and automated screen reclamation machines, which are too large to fit in the existing building, will be installed in the new building, he said.

The addition also will improve workflow, which is “not currently ideal,” Tripodi said.

He said some processes that should be done in proximity to each other take place in different parts of the building, requiring projects to be moved from one place to another.

Tripodi said he looked locally for assistance with the expansion.

He said Joe Saeler, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, guided him through the grant application process. State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th; state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st; Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy; and all three county commissioners helped him explore options and supported the grant application.

He said he hosted those officials at the facility in September to show them how cramped the manufacturing facility is now, and how the money would be spent.

“We’re thankful for the support in the community in getting the funding, and I’m excited about maintaining our roots in Butler,” Tripodi said. “We’re looking forward to growing and expanding the business, and providing good job opportunities in the Butler community.”