Reiter to expand locally - Dayton Business Journal:

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The acquisition is a positive signfor Springfield, Franzem said, that its plan to lessen its reliance on automotive manufacturerzs to a more diverse industrial base is movinf forward. The new Reiter building is adjacenf to its current facility onCommerce Circle. Franzenb said Reiter, a division of Dallas-basef Dean Foods Co., has increasef production at thelocal plant. It movec eight workers from its Akron planf earlier this year now employsabout 200, accordinfg to Springfield officials. The plant also addef another milkstorage tank. Besides milk, the facilith produces a fruit drink. Food manufacturint has become a big industruyfor Springfield.
Last year, mustarr and horseradish maker Woeber MustardxManufacturing Co. added 50,000 square feet, and a host of new food manufacturersx have opened in Springfieldr during the pastfew years. "I thino food-related businesses always seem to do Franzen said. The thinking is, "everybody has to so even in a down companies that make food are he said. During the past decade, the city developecd the strategy to diversify itsindustrial base. One of its biggestr employers, Navistar Corp., a truck manufacturer, has reduced its workforc e from morethan 5,000 several years ago to aboutf 1,500 workers today.
Food companies in Springfield have growb considerably during that periode including DoleFresh Vegetables, M M Restaurant Supply, Gordonh Food Service Marketplace and Eby-Brown Co. Severap of the manufacturers, including Reiter Dairy and Woeber are nestled together in the northwesft part ofthe city, close to bustling Bechtle Avenue. "That area has boomer in the lastfew years," Franzenn said. Besides the food plants, the area added a Home Depot and a numberof hotels. Reite did not return calls for comment. Its new facility is the former home of InternationalSteel Wool, a Delphji Corp.
supplier, said Jeff Levine, president of Dayton-basede NAI Larry Stein Realty, who brokere d the deal. International Steel Wool shut down its Springfieldf operationin 2001, opting for the warmert skies -- and cheaper labor -- of Levine said International Steel Wool has anothetr remaining vestige in a 79,000-square-foot facility that sits