Crosley is starting its own vinyl pressing plant

Vinyl doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, and with sales of records beating MP3s for the first time this year, it seems only right that we should see an increase in production.

That's exactly what Crosley is doing by starting a pressing plant in the US, which is expected to open later in 2017. Right now, research and development is still under way, and a site for the plant is being sought.

Crosley, the manufacturer of the popular retro-styled briefcase turntables, has bought the vinyl pressing equipment from a plant that was up for sale in the UK.

Bo LeMastus, Crosley’s CEO, told ARCARacing.com that a Crosley plant is a natural extention of its business. "We've been selling record players for years, so getting into the record business is a natural extension of what we've already been doing. There isn't a lot of record pressing equipment out there, so we are buying some.

"Now, we’ll be able to take a recording, make a stamp, press out a vinyl record and package it to completion."

This announcement follows the roll-out of a mobile vinyl store in the back of a lorry last March, which was named the 'Crosley Cruiser' after the company's retro-style record player. Let's hope the records sound better than the turntables...

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Adam was a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?, reviewing consumer gadgets for online and print publication, as well as researching and producing features and advice pieces on new technology in the hi-fi industry. He has since worked for PC Mag as a contributing editor and is now a science and technology reporter for The Independent.