Groundbreaking Held in New Business Park, New J.E. Berkowitz L.P. Headquarters

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Gateway Business Park in Pedricktown, N.J., the future home of J.E. Berkowitz (JEB) L.P., took place yesterday, June 20, 2006. JEB, a privately-held glass fabricator, has announced that it is moving to its new 200,000-square-foot plant and offices in April 2007 and will be the first company to occupy the business park, which is located off of Exit 7 of Interstate 295. The new facility will be on 22.4 acres.

"We are the pioneers at this business park, and we are thrilled to be staying in the state of New Jersey. Although we didn't want to leave Westville, our home for 36 years, we had no ability to expand further in the current location,"says Arthur Berkowitz, president of J.E. Berkowitz, L.P. "The new site has immediate access to the interstate and is across the road from a private airport."

The plant and offices were designed by Margulies Hoelzli Architecture of New York City, engineered by the Thornton Tomasetti Group of New York City, and will be constructed by Norwood Construction Management of Allentown, Pa. The layout of the buildings will incorporate some of the best practices found at the major glass fabrication plants in Europe. J.E. Berkowitz executives traveled to these sites last year to gain knowledge for its planned expansion. According to Edwin Berkowitz, chairman of J.E. Berkowitz, the total investment in construction, land, and new equipment will approach $25 million.

"We expect to produce 50 percent more at the new plant. To give you an idea of how far we've come, we produce in half a day today what we produced in a year 50 years ago," says Edwin Berkowitz.

J.E. Berkowitz, L.P. currently employs 220 employees and plans to hire more workers when the new plant and offices are completed.

"As the demand for high quality precision glass products evolves, J.E. Berkowitz, L.P. is making the commitment to meet that consumer need," says Robert E. Price, director of sales for J.E. Berkowitz, L.P. "By committing to building a state-of-the-art plant and offices at Gateway Business Park, we are staying the course on our strategic business growth plan."