Lansing-based manufacturer
Fluid Chillers will invest $1.4 million to purchase and redevelop a vacant facility at 3005 Alpha Access Drive on Lansing's South Side. The company's expansion is expected to create 15 new jobs in the region within the next three years.
Founded in 2007, Fluid Chillers custom designs and builds chillers for industry, medicine and aerospace. The company's list of Fortune 500 customers includes General Motors, Toyota, Dow, General Electric, BP, 3M and Boeing.
Company President Tim Ayers says that Fluid Chillers had been eyeing sites outside the Lansing area before they found the property.
"This location is important for our future so that we remain central to our employees and the property has enough room for us to continuously add space as required,” says Ayers. "We found South Lansing to be a great location for our business, with access to airport service, trucking, and a lot of localized companies that provide us with products that go into our systems.”
Fluid Chillers employs 34 manufacturing and service workers, and grew by 35 percent last year. The combination of growth and expansion plans prompted the company to purchase the vacant 14,000 square-foot building just down the road from its current facility.
Fluid Chillers will invest $600,000 to renovate the building sited on 5.44 acres and add an additional 36,000 square feet. Fluid Chillers will also continue operations in its current 20,000-square foot building at 2730 Alpha Access Drive.
The company requested a 12-year, $328,740 brownfield reimbursement from the city to cover the costs of making the building useable. The project is contingent upon Lansing City Council’s approval of the brownfield plan and additional State of Michigan support.
“On behalf of the City of Lansing, LEAP is proud to facilitate the growth of yet another Metro Lansing company that is an important part of the region’s manufacturing base,” said Karl Dorshimer, director of Business Development at the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. “Economic development incentives are a vital ingredient in helping local companies like Fluid Chillers overcome the extraordinary costs associated with redeveloping vacant buildings on brownfield sites.”
Source: Fluid Chillers and M3 Group
Writer: Ann Kammerer, News Editor
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