Soap maker plans expansion

VERMILION — A Vermilion-based soap manufacturer plans to expand its Liberty Avenue (U.S. 6) facility as continued growth leaves the company short on production and storage space. Defense Soap owner Guy Sako said the company plans to add 8,000 square feet to the rear of its existing 12,000-square-foot building. The expansion would increase the facility to about 20,000 square feet and provide room for about 500 pallets of inventory. Moving more inventory into the addition also would free space on the existing production floor for additional automation. "Our growth is being stifled by our lack of space," Sako said. The expansion is expected to be completed in spring 2027. More room for production Sako said the additional capacity will help Defense Soap produce a new medicated body wash and citrus shower gel. The company also expects to add two or three employees after the expanded operation is running. Defense Soap already owns a second building nearby that is used for overflow storage, Sako said. But that building is not climate-controlled, limiting what products and materials can be stored there. "Hard to believe that our current 12,000 square feet isn't large enough anymore," Sako said. The planned addition will allow more of the company's inventory to be stored at its main facility while creating additional room for manufacturing. Business grew from wrestling Sako founded Defense Soap in 2005 after seeing recurring skin infections among wrestlers he coached. The company developed soaps and other personal-care products aimed primarily at wrestlers, martial artists and people involved in other close-contact sports. Defense Soap remains a family-operated business. Sako runs the company with his wife, Ashley, and their son, Gus, along with a small group of employees. Sako is a former Cleveland State University wrestler and longtime wrestling coach. He also served 25 years as a Cleveland police officer. He was inducted into the Ohio Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019 for lifetime service to wrestling. The company's reach has expanded beyond the local market. In 2019, Defense Soap entered a global supplier agreement with United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport. The latest expansion will allow the company to continue increasing production while keeping its operations in Vermilion.