Dryvit Systems to open new manufacturing plant, plans workforce expansion

WEST WARWICK – Dryvit Systems Inc. will open a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the former Brown & Sharpe plant in North Kingstown, the company announced Monday.

The company said that the expansion is expected to “more than double” its manufacturing workforce over the next two years. Dryvit currently employs 150 workers in West Warwick and Cranston, including 100 production employees.

The plant will be used to manufacture the company’s NewBrick product, which is currently being made at the its Cranston site. The move will allow the company to meet the growing demand for the lightweight insulated brick product that the company launched in late 2016. The new plant will replace the facility in Cranston and is expected to come online by November.

“When we introduced NewBrick, we predicted it would be a real game changer, and we’re now seeing proof that the market is embracing NewBrick in a big way,” said Dryvit President and CEO R. Michael Murphy in a statement. “Our new state-of-the-art facility and expanded team will allow us to dramatically accelerate production capacity to meet growing demand.”

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NewBrick is a replacement for traditional clay-based bricks on construction usages. At one-twelfth the weight of standard bricks but with advanced insulation and other engineering properties, it is being considered for a number of commercial and residential uses that the traditional building material had not been, according to the company.

The company also said that eventually it would migrate the manufacturing of its Outsulation product to the North Kingstown facility as well.

Dryvit will remain headquartered in West Warwick, the company noted. The company also is not receiving any state incentives for the expansion.

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.