“We’ve already reached capacity for the facility,” said Jeffrey Keith, Modula facilities and environmental, health and safety manager. “So, this will increase production and also warehouse storage.”
Meanwhile, a Warren County decision on a land use change that’s part of the expansion will not be made until February.
Modula opened the 242,000 square foot in 2020 as part of a $30 million expansion, according to the company’s website. It now employs about 160, Keith said.
Modula bought its current site, a former Dayton Daily News print technology center, in 2019.
Cox Media Group Ohio previously owned and occupied the building, printing its local newspapers there before moving that work to an Indianapolis production facility.
The Italian company that manufactures automated storage systems plans to construct the addition on the north side of its plant located just off Interstate 75.
A decision on a northern access way for the planned expansion has been put on hold after residents and county commissioners expressed traffic concerns.
Most of the issues focused on creating an access drive for the expansion and its traffic impact on what neighbors said is already a dangerous stretch of road.
Modula’s current plan is a “safety concern,” Commissioner Dave Young said.
A proposed entrance from Pennyroyal Road in Franklin Twp. would allow trucks easier access to the new building, said Miller Valentine Construction’s Dustin Bailey, who represents Modula.
The proposed access drive would be more convenient for truck drivers who use the I-75 Austin Boulevard exit, officials said.
Access points to Pennyroyal in that area are not aligned, Young said.
“I am honestly shocked that the engineer would allow a driveway,” he added.
Pennyroyal resident William Brown told commissioners his property has been the site of at least five accidents, often because drivers exceed the 35 mile per hour speed limit.
Modula already has an access drive from Pennyroyal to a house the business uses for out-of-town visitors, Bailey said.
The proposal before the county seeks a zoning change about 10 acres in township from commercial business to light industrial manufacturing, according to county records.
To obtain rezoning approval, Young said, a better alternative would be to use Modula’s existing access from Pennyroyal to the company’s residential structure, which has a long driveway.
From that access way, Modula could create another one that splits off toward the business well before approaching the house, Young said.
“If the driveway proposed was … tied into the existing driveway — even it’s split off from the residential one — I think you’d have approval,” Young said.
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