Scratch and sniff: Arcade Marketing expands Amnicola site

photo Edith Amos checks on a machine making "scratch and sniff" labels at Arcade Marketing. The company produces most of the cosmetic and fragrance samples that are used in magazines and mailings in the United States.

ABOUT ARCADE

The company, which traces its Chattanooga roots to 1902, is owned by Visant Corp. of Armonk, N.Y.

Arcade Marketing, which makes fragrance and cosmetics test samples in Chattanooga for magazines and advertising samplers, is expanding its Amnicola Highway footprint.

The company's parent, Visant Corp., has purchased a 45,400-square-foot adjacent building on Amnicola where it plans to build office and laboratory space, said Bill Hoffman, Arcade's vice president and general manager in Chattanooga.

Plans are to relocate about 45 employees from its East Main Street facilities, putting all of Arcade's 240-person workforce at 3720 Amnicola Highway, he said.

"We'll start renovation almost immediately," Hoffman said.

Visant bought the building and 3.6 acres from Custom Baking Corp., an entity owned by McKee Foods Corp., said David DeVaney, president of NAI Charter Real Estate Corp. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.

Hoffman estimated that Arcade, which acquired its current 9-acre location from Custom Baking in 2009, will spend close to $5 million on its Amnicola Highway campus when it's finished.

He said Arcade also has sold its longtime East Main property, but the company will lease lab space for the rest of the year.

"We'll stay in the lab until we build something," Hoffman said.

DeVaney said the East Main location was bought by Johnstone Supply, a heating and air-conditioning distributor.

He said it's heartening to see an old-line manufacturer such as Arcade continue to invest in the city.

Hoffman said the economy remains a challenge, but he's starting to see a surge of activity in the second half of the year.

"Sampling is picking up again," he said.

Visant had 2010 net sales of $1.24 billion, according to the company.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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