Flexco plans relocation to WalkerView Industrial Park

Flexco plans relocation to WalkerView Industrial Park

WALKER — Flexco Grand Rapids, a manufacturer of conveyor maintenance equipment, is relocating its Michigan operations to the WalkerView Industrial Park. 

The company is building a more than 300,000-square-foot industrial building at 1920 Northridge Drive NW on a 36-acre site within the industrial park that will house manufacturing and office space for Flexco, which acquired the former Grand Rapids-based Clipper Belt Lacer Co. and is headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill. Flexco will move its 157 Michigan employees to the new building, said Doug Saunders, director of operations for North America. 

“We’re looking forward to the growth opportunity and we’re glad we’re going to be staying in the West Michigan area,” Saunders told MiBiz.

Flexco’s offices and manufacturing facilities are currently on Oak Industrial Drive in Grand Rapids, where it has expanded a couple of times. The company has steadily outgrown its current location, Saunders said. The new building also will allow Flexco to expand its product configurations.

With the move, Flexco expects to add about 50 employees during the next three to five years, Saunders said. 

The company’s decision to build a new plant came as vacancy rate for industrial property in West Michigan reached an all-time low of 1.6 percent, according to the West Michigan office of Colliers International

Flexco’s need for a large facility meant its choices for available existing properties were even fewer, Saunders said. 

WalkerView was the right fit because it offered the best opportunities for growth in the future and did not present a hindrance for employees getting to work, Saunders said. 

Flexco will purchase the property from RDG Walker LLC, an affiliate of Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction Co. Inc., which is developing the industrial park. 

Saunders aims for a mid-October groundbreaking with construction concluding by the end of 2020. 

Grand Rapids-based Pioneer Construction Inc. will serve as the construction manager. Progressive AE Inc., also based in Grand Rapids, designed the facility.