EarthShell employment to exceed 100 here

Davis Properties representatives said EarthShell signed a seven-year lease for the property at 2650 E. Pythian. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to the company’s Web site, San Francisco-based Meridian Business Solutions makes EarthShell recyclable food-service packaging products, including plates, bowls, hinged-lid containers, cups and sandwich wraps. In addition to its San Francisco headquarters, Meridian also has offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Baltimore, Md. Stanley Sterns, EarthShell vice president of marketing and sales, said Springfield had several features that attracted the company.

“We found a great facility we really liked, there’s a great labor pool, and it’s centrally located,” Sterns said. “On a much more subjective level, there are some really nice people that we’ve been dealing with, and that makes us very comfortable.”

Sterns added that Springfield is close to Lebanon-based Detroit Tool Co., which is manufacturing the machinery for the operation. He said the company should eventually build up to between 100 and 150 employees.