Certech to Retain Jobs and Create 80 More in Hanover Twp.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced that Certech Inc., a wholly owned division of Morgan Technical Ceramics and the Morgan Crucible Company, will create 80 new jobs and retain 185 positions through consolidating operations to its Luzerne County location.

Certech Inc. manufactures a broad line of complex injection-molded ceramic components that are used during the investment casting of turbine engine blades and vanes for aircraft and power generation, aircraft hardware, pumps, valves and sporting goods.

The company will close an existing out-of-state facility and consolidate its molded ceramic component operations into its 63,000-square-foot facility in Hanover Township. Certech also will purchase new equipment and train its new employees there.

“The Certech Facility in Wilkes-Barre has one of the most efficient and experienced teams in North America,” said Mike Kuzdzal, vice president and general manager of Certech North America. “As we continue to look for opportunities to improve our customer service levels and offer the best technical and most competitive products to the marketplace, it was a logical decision for us to move work into and create jobs for this site. The Pennsylvania government agencies we worked with to make this happen were extremely helpful and also focused on the growth of this facility.”

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team who worked with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry to assist Certech’s efforts to expand.

Certech Inc. received a $346,000 funding offer from the Department of Community and Economic Development, including $160,000 in job creation tax credits, $36,000 in job training assistance and a $150,000 Pennsylvania First grant.

“We are thrilled by Certech’s decision to expand its Hanover Industrial Estates manufacturing facility,” said Larry Newman, vice president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business & Industry. “It is very good news, not just because this project brings so many new quality jobs to the Wilkes-Barre area, but also because of what Certech’s investment says about Pennsylvania’s ongoing competitiveness as a manufacturing location.”