Nu-Foam Products Inc. officials have announced the purchase of the Vita Foam plant at 1900 Stuart Street in a move that will add as many as 30 jobs to the polyurethane foam manufacturing and distribution company and increase the size of its three Chattanooga facilities to over 300,000 square feet.

In May of 2004 Nu-Foam purchased a 66,000 square foot building, adjacent to its Wisdom Street plant for its first expansion, representing a $3 million investment and the addition of 30 employees to the company that produces foam used in bedding, furniture and carpet cushion products.

Nu-Foam, a subsidiary of privately held Ohio Decorative Products Inc. of Spencerville, Ohio, currently has a total 120 employees.

"This is a very good area for growth," said Tim Maharrey, Nu-Foam vice president of manufacturing. "Chattanooga’s location places us close to our customers, and we have had excellent cooperation and assistance from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and local officials."

"Nu-Foam is one of Chattanooga’s modern-day manufacturing success stories," said Steve Hiatt, Chamber director of existing business. "We are pleased that the company continues to gain business and to increase the number of good-paying jobs in our community."

Maharrey said Nu-Foam plans to retain the more than 40 former Vita Foam employees at the newly-purchased facility which will be called Nu-Foam Products Fab.

"Vita Foam, a British-based foam fabricator, basically does the same thing we do, and we needed another building so we could meet the needs of our bedding customers," Maharrey said. "Vita Foam had trained employees and the equipment we use. The purchase made sense."

Serta Mattress, Spring Air and IBC are among Nu-Foam’s bedding customers.

Maharrey said Nu-Foam’s main plant is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with customer demand. He said the new plant will start off with a six-day, 10-hour a day work week. The company plans to add a second shift in January 2006.

"We are looking for hourly employees up through managers," Maharrey said. "We need employees ranging from truck drivers to maintenance workers. The jobs include eight to10 high-end machine operator positions that pay above-average wages."

To make application for a job at Nu-Foam Products Inc., apply in person at:
1101 Wisdom Street P.O. Box 5648 Chattanooga, TN 37406. Resumes may be mailed to the street address above, emailed to: tarthur@nufoam.net or faxed to: (423) 629-4570.