AKRON—Steelastic Co. L.L.C. is building a new headquarters in Akron, relocating seven miles from its current facility, in a move centered on growth.
"The main reason was for our growth and anticipated additional growth," said Steelastic President Paul LaMantia. "It's going to double our assembly space, which will allow us to respond to our customers quicker."
Steelastic will share the new facility at the Ascot Industrial Park with another Heico Companies L.L.C. subsidiary, RMS Equipment L.L.C. The two firms currently are spread out over four buildings.
Steelastic will begin construction in October with a target completion date for early third quarter of 2014.
"We will also have more effective assembly space than we currently do," LaMantia said. "We'll also quadruple our space for engineering and development for new products."
The entire manufacturing area of the new building will be under crane, said Armand Massery, Steelastic continuous improvement manager.
Currently two of the three buildings Steelastic is utilizing do not have cranes while the other uses just one crane. The headquarters will have four that also will be able to handle more weight, Massery said.
The new headquarters also includes expanded lab and development areas, which LaMantia said will be used to continue to differentiate and add to the company's product line.
The supplier plans to also implement some cellular stations. "Probably not to the point of in lining, but cells to build common work," Massery said.
"We will be able to respond to multiple orders at the same time," LaMantia said. "The layout and having the cranes available will make us more efficient."
The company is spending multiple millions of dollars on the new headquarters. LaMantia said both companies will make the investment through parent firm Heico.
Steelastic is committed to remaining in Akron.
"We considered other sites in the Akron area," LaMantia said. "Akron brings the expertise in the area, machine-building experience, tire and rubber experience, the University of Akron, and we wanted to maintain our current work force."
David Pelligra and Architects Inc. is designing the new building. Massery said the company has a longstanding partnership with the architect firm, and Steelastic utilized it for previous growth initiatives within its current operation.