FORTVILLE — A locally-operated manufacturer is diving headfirst into an ambitious expansion project, company officials say.
Thursday Pools, a Fortville-based business crafting and exporting fiberglass swimming pools, is moving forward with a facility extension that will increase the business’s total space to 100,000 square feet. Their efforts will result in increased storage capacity, productivity and employment opportunities with the company, said Thursday Pools CFO Bill Khamis.
The expansion includes doubling the available facility space for workers along with double the loading area for fiberclass pools, Khamis said. They also plan to install 12 acres of asphalt and stone, which will be exclusively used for pool storage, said Ed Vondell, Thursday Pools CEO.
“Pool molds have to be stored and treated like gold,” Vondell said. “The way the mold is, that’s the way you’ll see your pool at the end of the day when it’s installed.”
“This way, we need to have everything well-protected and in a controlled environment,” he added.
Another idea for the project is the building of a half-mile road to drive prospective customers on a tour around the facility to showcase the different pool types the business has on site, Vondell said.
Thursday Pools has been in Hancock County for more than 35 years, Khamis said. While based in Fortville, the company exports swimming pools all across the United States and Canada, he said.
This expansion project will create several manufacturing jobs that are full-time, 50-hour-week averages, likely starting at $11 to $12 per hour, he said. The project will increase work capacity, but it’s really about continually improving exceptional working standards for their employees while crafting a quality product, he said.
“We don’t like to talk about jobs here with people,” Khamis said. “We want people to have a career here, a career where they can learn something in the field and move up with. It’s exciting from that end.”
Khamis said that even as a small company, Thursday Pools continues to celebrate their success and grow as an organization. Part of growth is continual improvement, which includes increasing the square footage of their facility and improving their employees’ work space, he said.
Having climate-controlled working conditions in the sweltering Indiana summer will hopefully improve employee morale along the way, Vondell added.
Their expansion is good for the company and Hancock County alike, he said. Thursday Pools has been fortunate to hire a fair number of workers from Fortville and the surrounding area in the past several years, and they hope to continue hiring more as the expansion project pushes forward, officials said.
“With the expansion, it’s going to help the company thrive and continue on a steady growth path,” Vondell said. “In our company, quality is top-notch … and this facility will improve quality, efficiency and productivity.”
“With volume increasing, jobs will increase. You won’t get one without the other,” he said.
