Growth at RI’s sunset business park

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By Jennifer DeWitt | Monday, October 9, 2006 11:52 PM CDT | () comments

Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES Norcross Safety Products’ new expansion �” with its injection-molding footwear manufacturing process �” is in operation.

Norcross Safety Products has tied a bow — or cut one, anyway — on another new project for Rock Island’s Sunset Business Park.

During a ceremony Monday, company representatives joined city leaders to cut the ribbon on a new building that houses Norcross Safety Products’ expanded injection molding footwear manufacturing operation. The $2 million building is the latest improvement in the industrial park in west Rock Island.

“We’re going to be a lot more efficient; there is a lot of new robotics in place,” said Tom Alger, the plant’s general manager. He said the expansion was necessary to accommodate installation of a new $1.2 million piece of machinery along with the company’s four other machines.

In operation since August, he said the new facility still is not up to full capacity. But it will help Norcross increase its annual capacity from 1.8 million pairs of boots to 2.3 million. The facility was designed so “there is plenty of room for expansion,” Alger said.

“Hopefully, this will make us more of a player. We’re No. 2 in the marketplace now,” he said.

Rock Island Mayor Mark Schwiebert described the Norcross project “as a great addition to the park,” which has seen several other reinvestments and new tenants in recent years. He said it compliments projects completed by Rock Island Lubricants, Crawford Co. and Automotive Paint Equipment.

The Norcross project represents a partnership between the company, the city and Rock Island Industrial Partners, which built and owns the 45,000-square-foot building. Norcross has a 10-year lease on the building.

Schwiebert said as the city’s largest manufacturing employer, Norcross’ ongoing commitment to Rock Island is proof that “manufacturing remains part of our profile.”

With the additional property tax revenue the new building will generate, the city expects a return on its money in about seven years.

Greg Champagne, the city’s community and economic development director, said Rock Island sold the site to developer Phil Scott for $1. The city had acquired nearly 20 single-family homes that were not compatible with the industrial area over a three-year-period as part of its Sunset Business Park redevelopment plan. The city also contributed $150,000 for the building’s construction.

This is not the first project there for Scott and Rock Island Industrial Partners. Scott has purchased and improved several properties in the area, moving in new tenants, including Habegger, a distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; Kreiser Co., a medical supply distributor; and an expanded facility for TSC Band-All, a commercial/industrial packaging products.

“It’s nice to see the old industrial areas being redeveloped,” Champagne said. “This compliments the Southwest Rock Island Industrial Park. Southwest is a greenfields area — where developers can build new. This is a place where they can come in and renovate existing buildings.”

He estimated that the park has seen $7 million to $8 million in reinvestments over the past decade.

Scott said the area’s easy access to highway, rail and barge transportation has been a big drawing card for Sunset.

“We’re 100 percent occupied here. We’ve enjoyed, by design, 100 percent tenant turnover,” he said, adding that Rock Island Industrial Partners has moved tenants around and attracted new ones as it has bought properties, rehabbed them and transformed them into market-rate quality. “Most were in deplorable to average condition when we bought them.”

He would not say specifically what properties the partners own, but said the list includes several blocks. Some odd spaces still are available and plans are under way to demolish an old truck terminal and build a 20,000-square-feet spec building in its place.

“This area has come back so vibrantly that we’ve never had a potential tenant refuse to come here for any reason other than they want to be on one state or another,” he said.

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.

ABOUT THE COMPANYName: Norcross Safety Products

Headquarters: Oak Brook, Ill.

Products: Manufacturer/marketer of head-to-toe protective equipment.

Business units: NSP Consumer Products, Rock Island; North Safety Products; W.H. Salisbury, and Total Fire Group.

Expansion: A 45,000-square-foot building unveiled Monday will increase the plant’s capacity for manufacturing injection-molding footwear. The $2 million structure includes new robotic machinery, valued at $1.2 million.

Building owner: Rock Island Industrial Partners.

Employees: 370 people in Rock Island, including 38 in the new building.

History: Formerly known as Servus Rubber, the company has had a presence in Rock Island since 1922.