Furnace Record pressing to open new 50,000 Square-foot plant in Northern Virginia
New record-pressing plant will increase badly needed record-manufacturing capacity, and bring 40-plus new jobs to Northern Virginia with a commitment to reducing its environmental impact
Fairfax, VA, October 25, 2017— Furnace Record Pressing will open a new 50,000 square-foot vinyl record pressing plant in Fairfax, VA in January of 2018. The new plant will fill a desperate industry need for more vinyl record production capacity while creating 40-plus new jobs in Northern Virginia, all while the company seeks to minimize the environmental impact of the new manufacturing facility.
“In 21-years of running Furnace, this has been the hardest but most rewarding thing we’ve ever accomplished,” says founder and CEO Eric Astor. “We have an incredible staff who are passionate about vinyl, love our customers and are always looking for better ways of doing everything. Their commitment is really what makes this company special and why I’m so confident this expansion will be successful.”
Work on the plant started years ago with a stable of old-school record pressing workhorses: ten automatic Toolex Alpha record presses Furnace tracked down in Mexico. They took the best machines of the past and dragged them into the future by adding all new electronics, chrome, paint, hoses, switches, valves and modern day logic controllers. Furnace also developed their own manually-run record presses to handle the increased demand for specialty color vinyl pressings and picture discs.
It’s not all old-school at the new facility, though. Furnace is also proud to support the creative and hard working community of vinyl enthusiasts bringing all new technology to the industry, teaming up with Viryl Technologies of Canada to feature two of their state-of-the-art WarmTone pressing machines.
“Viryl Technologies couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Furnace in the building of their new pressing plant” said Chad Brown, CEO of Viryl Technologies. “The Furnace team has always been at the forefront of the industry and has a great reputation for high quality, audiophile standards. The inclusion of WarmTone machinery on their plant floor is a testament to their dedication in pushing the boundaries of vinyl manufacturing.”
All of this additional capacity gives Furnace an excellent opportunity to get back to their roots and better support the independent community from which they were conceived. “I come from the DIY punk scene, so it’s always been my mission to cater to independent artists and labels, many of which have been pushed to the back of the line with the current resurgence in demand for vinyl,” says Astor. “I’m excited that this expansion will allow us to do just that.”
With all this growth comes greater responsibility, and Furnace is dedicated to reducing their environmental impact that inevitably comes with large-scale manufacturing. In addition, Furnace is pledging 5% of the profits from their new factory to benefit charities that further this goal. “For us, music has always been a vehicle to push for social change, and we feel it’s our duty as manufacturers to tread lightly and pay it forward,” says Astor.
Furnace Record Pressing Plant Facts & Figures:
• 10x refurbished Toolex Alpha automatic record presses (8x 12″, 2x 7″)
• 2x Viryl WarmTone automatic 12″ record presses
• 4x Furnace designed semi-automatic 12″ record presses
• Environmental facility design including adaptive LED lighting, a closed loop water chiller feeding the presses and HVAC system and high volume / low speed fans that circulate conditioned air throughout
• Touchscreen logic controllers to track, change and optimize press operations
• Annual capacity of 9 million units of 12″ and 7″ records with room for expansion
• Dedicated custom color-effect and picture disc capability
• 40+ additional jobs created
Furnace Record Pressing was founded in 1996 by music industry veteran Eric Astor. Astor parlayed his years of label and distribution experience into a customer-centric manufacturing company that is mom-and-pop enough to cater to small independent artists and labels, yet refined enough to handle large company’s needs. Furnace has established themselves in the industry as a high-quality vinyl manufacturer due to their uncompromising quality standards and a credo that states they will only ship what they would be happy to spend their hard earned money on.
