Gurtler Completes Phase I Expansion

Gurtler Industries Inc. recently announced the completion of the initial phase of a 68,000-square-foot expansion of its headquarters production/office facility in South Holland, IL, according to a news release.

“We recognized several years ago that in order to continue serving our current customers and support our record growth, we needed a larger building,” said President Greg Gurtler. “At the time, our only option was to look for another location to purchase or build on. But during our search process, the opportunity arose to expand at our current location, and we were able to stay in South Holland (roughly 23 miles south of downtown Chicago), while meeting our goal for increased space.”

The Gurtler addition was facilitated by the fact that its neighbor in the adjacent building that it purchased had relocated to another state, the release said. The acquisition allows Gurtler to keep all its office, laboratory production and warehouse space at one location, split between two adjacent buildings. The purchase signaled the start of an 18-month renovation process for both buildings and the nearby grounds.

“It was a challenge to manage all the construction and upgrades, while maintaining production and fulfillment operations,” said Lester Gurtler, VP of operations, who oversaw the expansion for the third-generation family-owned and operated company.  “But in the end, we were very pleased with the increased capacity and site improvements, which improves efficiencies in our internal processes and translates to better service to our customers.”

The renovations to the newly acquired building include removing nearly all existing structure and utilities under the roof of this former industrial plant. Gurtler will install new mechanical and electrical systems, including the addition of skylights and new energy-efficient LED lighting. In addition, it will rebuild two shipping and receiving docks, and construct a new lunch and locker area for employees. The new space now serves as a finished goods warehouse and order-fulfillment center. Gurtler’s headquarters now has more than 100,000 square feet (9,290 square meters) of space and more than 120 employees, including overseas staff in Australia and other markets.

These changes already have fueled significant performance gains, said Lester Gurtler. “We’ve been able to reduce order fulfillment lead times by 30%,” he said, adding that, “The increased warehouse space has also allowed us to realize efficiencies in raw-material procurement and blending operations.” These moves have facilitated increases in production, planning and order-fulfillment staff to accommodate a growing customer base.

Other improvements include:

• The replacement and widening of a tanker receiving driveway
• Replacing an asphalt parking lot with concrete (more than 250 yards of fresh concrete in all)
• Rebuilding four shipping and receiving docks
• Enhancing the front façade of both buildings

This expansion allows us to enhance our service to our customers and support our growth,” Gurtler said. “We are truly blessed to have a thriving, family-owned business that is positioned to serve our customers and the industry for many years to come.”