Audiophiles, rejoice!
Furnace Record is opening a 50,000 square-foot vinyl record pressing plant. It will be located near Edsall Road and the Mixing Bowl and is expected to employ more than 40 people.
“The new plant will fill a desperate industry need for more vinyl record production capacity,” according to Furnace.
Furnace Record Pressing Facility Construction Tour 2017
This construction video by Furnace Record Pressing shows the in-progress 50,000 square-foot vinyl record pressing plant in Fairfax, VA. It is scheduled to open in early 2018.
Since 2010, sales of vinyl records have tripled in the United States, according to sales data, but most of the vinyl pressing and production facilities went out of business decades ago when CDs became popular. The lack of demand for years has led to a shortage of machines, and many of the machines that remain need overhauls to keep up with demand.
The Furnace Records facility in Fairfax will be using refurbished Toolex Alpha automatic record presses, Viryl WarmTone automatic presses and four Furnace-designed semi-automatic presses.
The Toolex Alpha presses were found in Mexico and fully refurbished with new components and electronics.
Furnace also developed their own record presses to meet demand for specialty items.
“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,” said Furnace Records Founder Eric Astor, who lives in Northern Virginia. “I’m excited that this expansion will allow us to do just that.”
