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VERSATILE SYSTEM — Chris Courtnell, sales engineer for Certwood Ltd., displays one of his firm’s Storsystem bin racks in the offices of Progress Alliance in the Jefferson County Center for Economic Development, 630 Market St. Courtnell is staying in the United States through June to open up marketing for the product, which is being warehoused in the lower level of the Riesbeck’s plaza in Wintersville. - Paul Giannamore

WINTERSVILLE - A British firm hoping to make inroads in storage systems for classrooms and other industries is establishing a distribution operation in the warehousing area at the back of the Riesbeck's plaza on Main Street.

Certwood Ltd., a plastic injection molding company, manufactures a line called the "Storsystem" for education storage featuring wood furniture, metal racking and plastic trays that form a modular storage system serving students from preschool through college. The storage tray system also has found applications in the medical field and for industrial customers as well as residential uses. The lidded plastic bins include an area for a nametag/file label as well as a place to put tape or stickers on the bin without sticking permanently.

The bins come in a variety of sizes and can either be equipped with wheels to handle moving a stack of bins or placed into a wheeled cart.

Chris Courtnell, sales engineer for Certwood Ltd., based in Bedfordshire, U.K., explained Monday his firm exports its education storage products throughout the world and launched into the United States with an exhibit at the National School Supply and Equipment Association shows in Orlando, Fla., in March 2008 and in Baltimore in November.

The link to Jefferson County comes through a relative, Janet Carr of Hopedale, Courtnell said. He said his father Roger had been in touch with Progress Alliance through Carr in the past, and with the potential expansion into the United States got in touch with the economic development group again.

"Obviously, we hope that Certwood becomes as big a hit in the United States as they are in Great Britain," said Ed Looman, Progress Alliance executive director. Looman credited Riesbeck's building owner Derek Ferguson for making Certwood's venture into the U.S. possible from a base in Jefferson County.

"It's indicative of the cooperative spirit of Derek Ferguson, who has been very cooperative with Certwood, to get this done," Looman said. "It shows what happens when people work together. Mr. Ferguson is certainly one of those people who will do anything he can to see Jefferson County move forward."

Ferguson said Monday that Certwood will be using an unused portion of the lower level of the building to store containers of its product.

"We're trying to help them every way we can. They're very nice people," Ferguson said. "We're just hoping they can get started and they can turn into something bigger."

In addition to several retail businesses, including Ferguson's Create A Room furniture store, the building also houses Treasure Island Marketplace.

Courtnell is staying in the United States through June to continue marketing the systems, then will go back to Bedfordshire while the company evaluates its next moves.

"We could possibly begin molding here," Courtnell said. "The early indications are that there is more potential here than in our current marketplace in Britain. But we've got to walk before we can run."

Courtnell said interest in the product is advancing to the point where a U.S. distribution center is needed. The company has shipped 40-foot shipping containers to larger distributors. He said many smaller dealers want a few units at a time to sell, and shipping on demand would be expensive in small quantities, leading to the need for the warehouse. Courtnell is introducing the system to educators during his stay in the United States.

"Ed Looman and Progress Alliance have helped us a lot," Courtnell said.

The company said the short-term plan with the warehousing in Wintersville will generate employment.

If the firm is successful, the second phase would include manufacturing of the wood hanging case with wheels that turn the stackable storage trays into a file-cabinet style device with the lidded trays becoming pull-out drawers. The third phase would include installing a local injection-molding facility.

Certwood said the company's second- and third-phase plans for its Ohio distribution center would be subject to forming a local Certwood unit as either a subsidiary of the main Britain-based company or as a stand-alone business.

Courtnell said Certwood has spent $100,000 so far including exhibitions and product stocking at the distribution center.

In additional to the educational storage system, Certwood makes auto parts, garden irrigation products and general industrial molding of plastic parts and goods. Certwood formed in June 1986 and has 18 molding machines at its 40,000-square-foot factory in North Luton, U.K.

(Giannamore can be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com.)