Former Ardagh plant in Whitehouse becoming toy distribution center

The former Ardagh Metal Beverage USA Inc. plant in Whitehouse will soon reopen as a regional distribution center for a New Jersey-based toy company that has been in business for 106 years.

Flybar, Inc ., which opened in 1918, is best known for its pogo sticks.

But since coming under new ownership in 2015, it has diversified with many other products for children, including tumbling mats, swing collections, animal hoppers, hopper balls, scooters, hand-held toy cars, battery-operated cars big enough for kids to ride in, tents, and sleds.

Stalyn Freile, Flybar vice president of people and culture, told The Blade that the company hopes to have the former Ardagh plant reopened as a regional toy distribution center within days so it can help fulfill orders for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Flybar’s owners purchased the building for $8 million recently, according to the Lucas County Auditor’s Office. While it will take about six months for the renovation to be completed, Flybar is getting it as operational as it can now. It is to be the company’s second distribution center outside of New Jersey, the other one being in Greenwood, S.C., Mr. Freile said.

“We’re opening it up quickly to alleviate some of the pressure our growth has caused, which is good,” he said.

Toys aren’t being manufactured there. Most are made overseas, especially in China, Mr. Freile said.

The company will use the site to distribute what is brought in from overseas to major U.S. retailers, he said.

“We’ve already started hiring people for the positions there,” Mr. Freile said, adding that he plans to be in the area later this week to do more scheduled interviews.

He declined to provide specifics about his company, saying that the toy industry is notorious for keeping such information close and said Flybar is no exception.

The company claims to be the world’s largest pogo stick manufacturer. Its website says that it has grown from a lineup of 25 pogo sticks to a catalog of more than 500 products in 14 different categories over the past seven years.

Whitehouse Mayor Richard Bingham said he and other officials had been waiting for a long time to learn how the building was going to be reused, adding that they’d heard rumors but not gotten confirmation.

“It certainly means a lot to the village for economic development,” Mayor Bingham said. “We wanted a good tenant in there. We’re excited to work with them and will make sure they’re successful. We knew somebody bought it, but we didn’t know the specifics. It doesn’t help our income revenue for it to be vacant.”

The 300,000-square-foot building opened in 1974. It was occupied until Ardagh moved out in January , which left about 107 people without jobs.

Ardagh, a global packaging company based in Luxembourg, made mostly 12- and 24-ounce aluminum cans for drinks, as well as the labels at its Whitehouse plant.