FOSTORIA, Ohio—Roppe Holding Co., the parent company of vinyl and rubber flooring brands Roppe and Flexco, bought a 500,000-sq.-ft. facility near its current site in Fostoria to house a new corporate headquarters and manufacturing and sales operations.
"Acquiring this facility is part of our long-term business strategy to be the leading provider of domestically manufactured high-quality resilient flooring products and accessories," Bart Rogers, RHC vice president of sales and marketing, said in a news release.
The cost of flooring produced overseas is expected to go up starting Jan. 1, when the U.S. government imposes a 25 percent tariff on some vinyl and engineered wood products imported from China. The U.S. already tacked a 10 percent tariff on some flooring in September.
"We will be uniquely positioned to avoid the production constraints and pricing uncertainty non-U.S. flooring manufacturers are facing today," Rogers said.
RHC will use the new facility for its vinyl and rubber wall bases and accessories, such as stair treads, as well as to support is manufacturing partner, Seoul-based Nox Corp., which is focused on luxury vinyl tile. Nox supplies tile to major brands and does not sell products under its own name.
The new facility also will have a training and technical center for sales and service employees, retail and distribution partners and architects, designers and contractors.
Roppe and Flexco flooring sells mostly to the commercial building market.
RHS is the second flooring manufacturer in recent weeks to announce steps to boost domestic production. A new company called Lico US is investing $10 million in a 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and distribution facility in Neenah, Wis., which it says will be the first in the U.S. to produce rigid PVC flooring. Lico is a C-corporation formed by Swiss-based Li & Co. A.G. and Neenah-based Acoustic Ceiling Products LLC. That plant will open with one extrusion and milling line.
RHC is made up of six subsidiary companies, including Roppe Corp., Flexco Corp., Seneca Millwork Inc., American Thermoplastic Extrusion Co., RHC Logistics Corp. and Tri-County Broadcasting Inc.