The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 10, 2010

Hermitage zoning board OKs Joy Cone expansion

More sugar cones, hirings in offing

By Joe Pinchot

HERMITAGE — Joy Cone Co. is already the ice cream cone market leader in retail and food service sales.

With an expansion approved Wednesday by Hermitage Zoning Hearing Board, the company will be positioned to grow in the remaining market where it does not lead: dairy pack in which the company makes cones for dairies to create other ice cream products, said Joy President Dave George.

The Hermitage manufacturer plans to add 190,000 square feet in production and warehousing space to its Lamor Road plant, and 50 jobs over three years, George said.

“Our sales have been up over 30 percent since we were last before the board (in 2004),” George said. “We’ve also hired over 100 people in the time period.”

The additional production space, 90,000 square feet, will allow Joy Cone to make more sugar cones, George said, noting regular demand for cones is up. The 100,000 square feet in new warehouse space will allow the company to keep more product on-site, eliminating the need to truck it elsewhere for storage.

Neighbor Tim Vesonder said he’s all for anything that cuts down on truck traffic on Lamor.

Vesonder noted that he had opposed a past expansion plan because he didn’t know what it would mean for the neighborhood, but he supports the new one.

“Joy Cone has been very diligent in practicing good neighborhoodship,” he said.

The company responds to problems, such as when garbage trucks came too early in the morning, and corrects them, Vesonder said.

He also said he was pleased to learn that the dirt excavated for the expansion will be kept on site, eliminating a dirt and dust problem on Lamor.

“Even though there is a large plant a stone’s throw away, for all practical purposes, I don’t know they’re there until they open the windows and I smell the cake cones,” Vesonder said.

Company officials met with neighbors and outlined their plans, and made some adjustments based on what neighbors said, George said. The company even altered the proposed position of the expansion to create more of a setback, he said.

George pledged the company will take “extensive measure to shroud the building” with vegetative screening, and even will thicken existing screening. Truck loading and unloading will remain behind closed doors, and not be done at night or early in the morning. Sound reduction buffers will be built on the roof of the new production building, he said.

The stormwater extension basin will be expanded, and a second one could be built, George said.

The company, which employs about 325, recently bought 9 acres, giving it a total of about 45 acres, and the new buildings will bring the square footage under roof to 514,537.

Although Joy Cone has been at its site for many years, it is located in a single-family residential zoning district, making expansion plans the purview of the zoning hearing board.

The board granted a variance for lot coverage allowing the company to occupy 26.3 percent of its acreage, when the zoning ordinance allows 15 percent.

The board also permitted the expansion as a non-conforming use in a residential district.

“We’re thrilled,” George said of the board’s action. “We obviously need to do this expansion and we’re excited to get going.”

If the variances had not been approved, the company would have had to build a separate plant, an expansive undertaking creating inefficiencies because of duplication of equipment.

The company has fared well during the economic downturn.

“The food service industry hasn’t suffered as much as others to start with,” George said. “Cones are a relatively inexpensive treat. It’s a feel-good item as well.”

Text Only
Local News
  • Store owner busted again for fake pot sales

    The owner of a Grove City store already facing charges related to the sale of synthetic marijuana has been arrested a second time for selling the drug.

    Ala H. Nassar, 27, of 125 S. Seventh St., Sharpsville, was arrested Thursday on charges of delivery, possession and possession with intent to deliver synthetic pot, criminal use of a cellular telephone and conspiracy to commit delivery.

    Abdallah H. Matariyeh, 27, of the same address, also was arrested on charges of delivery and possession with intent to deliver.

    February 10, 2012

  • Bids opened for work to widen Rt. 760

    PennDOT officials opened bids Thursday for the first two sections of a three-section widening of Route 760 in Wheatland, Farrell and Sharon.

    February 10, 2012

  • Timeline now at center of negligence lawsuit

    A jury will decide whether the normal statute of limitations applies in a lawsuit filed by a Sharon man accusing a Sewickley agency of negligence that resulted in numerous injuries to his disabled son.

    February 10, 2012

  • Social media alert first responders

    The Mercer County Fire/EMS alerts’ Facebook page is two years strong and continues to attract followers who want the latest updates on traffic accidents, fires and other emergencies.

    February 10, 2012

  • State cuts trickle down to township

    Brookfield Township “is in a world of hurt.”

    February 9, 2012

  • Toth takes $30k to settle lawsuit

    It’s typical for lawsuit settlement agreements to include a confidentiality clause that bars the parties from discussing the terms of the settlement.

    February 9, 2012

  • Taking flight

    Some kids probably daydream about sending their homework up into the atmosphere, but that really happened this week for a few classes of Jamestown Area High School students.

    February 9, 2012

  • GC man called suspect in Jan. 27 bank robbery

    A Grove City man charged with robbing a Zelienople bank Monday is a suspect in the Jan. 27 robbery of a Sandy Lake bank.

    February 8, 2012

  • Committee to focus on finances for future

    Sharon city leaders have money on their minds as they look to the future of the once-vibrant town struggling with a limited tax base and higher costs of doing business.

    February 8, 2012

  • Summer work turns into year-round part-time job

    A Sharpsville resident asked council members this week why the man hired as summer help is still on the payroll in the middle of winter.

    February 8, 2012