By Anastasia Millicker
RED BANK – Mayor Pasquale Menna awarded the first Mayor’s Commerce and Industry Award to Seals Eastern on Monday, June 18, at its Pearl Street facility.
During a ceremony attended by management and factory employees, Menna commended the company for its loyalty to the Red Bank community.
Seals Eastern has been in the borough for more than a decade and has provided a working environment that not only coexists with the community but also provides employment opportunities within it, Menna said.
Menna said he toured the facility and was impressed by the workmanship and presence in Red Bank. The company has 152 employees, one-third of whom are borough residents who have the ability to walk to work.
“Red Bank is a place where people can work and walk to work and feel safe,” Menna said.
The award is the first of what is expected to be an annual honor to be presented to local businesses, the mayor said.
Seals Eastern LLC president Dan Hertz Jr. said he was honored to receive the distinction.
Seals Eastern was founded in 1958 in East Orange as a distributor and has evolved since then, Hertz said. Seals Eastern manufactures rubber seals, plastic tubing, moldings and seals used in equipment ranging from oil drilling to space shuttles.
In 1960, the company moved to Shrewsbury and began manufacturing original equipment, supplying to basic manufacturers. In 1978 the company started to get involved with customers in oil and gas drilling businesses. Since then the company has updated and upgraded equipment to accommodate heavy-duty diesel engine machines with many of the Seals Eastern customers being leading technology innovators and Fortune 100 companies, Hertz said.
The company has grown a lot with renovations throughout the years with many employees continuing to work for the company long-term, Hertz said.
“One employee has been with us for 50 years in October while we have others who have been here 20, 30 and 40 years,” Hertz said.
