Röchling Engineered Plastics has expanded its Gastonia manufacturing facility on US 321 North by 28,000 square feet to accommodate its growing business.

Röchling manufactures sheets, rods, profiles and tubes from polyethylene and polypropylene for use in the conveyor, material handling, chemical and semiconductor industries.

The $1 million expansion was motivated by a need for increased stock storage space, growth in the industry, as well as the need to free production space for additional equipment, said Lewis Carter, general manager. "We have been able to increase our efficiency, and the expansion should allow for increased revenue," he added.

The expansion has created five additional jobs at Röchling, which employs about 85 people. Its 128,000-square-foot plant and 10,000-square-foot administration building sit on a hill above US 321 at 120 Röchling Street.

Röchling sells to customers throughout North and South America. Two local distributors are Plastic Products of Bessemer City and Piedmont Plastics in Charlotte, Carter said.

Röchling came to Gastonia in 1987 when Röchling Haren KG, headquartered in Haren, Germany, acquired Impact Plastics, a Gastonia company that originated in the 1950s.