A long-time Landisville industrial firm is taking a long-term approach toward expansion.

Herr & Sacco, a 60-year-old company, envisions moving to Rapho Township and doubling its building size in two to five years.

But the mechanical contracting and custom metal fabricating business already has taken several major steps toward that eventual relocation.

Earlier this year, a Herr & Sacco affiliate acquired a 25-acre site on Auction Road. Earlier this month, the affiliate won township approval of its plan for a 97,000-square-foot building there.

Herr & Sacco president Chris Miller said Thursday that while the project is not imminent, with the economy in recession, the company still wants to be "planning for the future."

Miller said the multi-million-dollar Auction Road project would offer several advantages to the company.

By leaving its 50,000-square-foot building on four acres on Elmwood Avenue for a larger facility just a four-minute drive away, Herr & Sacco would become more efficient.

The firm, which serves the printing, candy, pharmaceutical and energy industries, also would gain the capability of handling bigger projects, said Miller.

But much work needs to be done before construction could begin.

Though the land development plan was approved by Rapho Township Supervisors April 2, Herr & Sacco still needs to design the interior of the structure, said Miller.

Meanwhile, the firm's immediate challenge is to cope in a recession. Herr & Sacco is using several strategies that have enabled it to retain its entire 105-person workforce.

"Our eyes are more open to projects that wouldn't normally be within our scope of work," said Miller, a 20-year employee who became president three years ago.

Herr & Sacco also is using the flexibility of its veteran staff — the average worker has been with the firm for 18 or 19 years — to shift workers to where they're needed most.

"Our employees are well-versed in everything we do, so we're able to move people around. With the skilled employees we have, that gives us a lot of versatility," he said.

Staff writer Tim Mekeel can be reached at tmekeel@LNPnews.com or 481-6030.