Neways founder starts new company in Springville A month away from his trip to federal prison, Neways founder Thomas E. Mower Sr. is opening a new manufacturing plant for personal care products and dietary supplements in Springville and plans to hire up to 150 workers by year-end.
Mower, who will start serving a 33-month prison sentence on Nov.
13 for income tax evasion, bought the former corporate headquarters of Little Giant Ladder in Springville for nearly $3.5 million on Friday -- as part of his plans for his new company, SupraNaturals LLC.
Incorporated in 2004, SupraNaturals's corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant will occupy a 332,000-square-foot building at 1356 W. Spring Creek Place in Springville. It is scheduled to open in November.
The Little Giant Ladder office --a 96,000-square-foot building at 1325 W. Industrial Circle that is still occupied by Wing Enterprises, will be converted into additional manufacturing and office space for SupraNaturals once Wing's lease expires in April 2007, said Ryan Moss, Wing's CEO. The ladder maker is relocating to a nearby 240,000-square-foot building at 1198 N. Spring Creek Place, which was formerly occupied by local health food manufacturer E. Excel International Inc.
SupraNaturals's plant
When completed in mid-2007, the SupraNaturals plant will be a private label maker of personal care products including shampoos, conditioners and soap, as well as dietary supplements, bottled water and chewing gum.
"We have contracts with liquid soap customers, and hope eventually to also make dietary supplement capsules. But we won't have any specific brand or formulas under the SupraNaturals's name," said Gary Chlarson, who has served as project manager with the company for past 18 months.
"We acquired the Little Giant Ladder building because of its proximity to our building, which gives us the room to expand," he said.
