Wasco Skylight Products Inc. has opened its new manufacturing facility in Reno, Nev., producing both standard and custom skylights for the commercial and residential market, and expanding its distribution west of the Rocky Mountains. The company expects to send its first shipment from Reno by the end of the month and is planning an open house later this summer.
Wasco leased the new 57,000-square-foot facility located at 6645 Echo Avenue in Reno. Situated within one day’s journey from every major city in the western states, this market represents about 26% of all construction spending.
Drawing from Wasco’s experienced East Coast team, plant manager Michael Jones and customer service representative Jeff Binette have relocated to Nevada. They will focus on maintaining the company’s emphasis on high-quality manufacturing and customer satisfaction. At this time, up to 20 employees from the Reno area also will be hired. More will be added to accommodate future production.
Additional staff also is expected to join the operations in Wells, Maine. Wasco will continue to make its own vinyl extrusions for skylight frames in Maine and ship them to Reno for assembly.
As part of its ongoing plan for continuous improvement, Wasco moved in 2011 from its outdated facility in Sanford, Maine and leased a 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Wells. Embracing just-in-time operations, the company’s leaders made multi-million dollar capital investments in high-tech, automated manufacturing equipment and estimating systems to increase efficiency and boost productivity. Its engineering staff also was doubled to work hand-in-hand with customers throughout the U.S. on developing daylighting solutions for their individual projects. Wasco has also added a dedicated research and development engineering staff.
