Constructiton work under way on Certified Metals building in PIC

Certified Metals Inc. broke ground June 27 on a new 30,000-square-foot facility in the Partnership Industrial Center.

The new facility, being built by Bell Building Systems, will accommodate additional equipment, allowing Certified Metals to expand its processing of stainless steel for a growing customer base.

The company projects a 25 percent increase in employee numbers during the next 12 months, according to a release from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Certified Metals, established in August 1978 as a supplier and processor of stainless steel product for the local trade area, currently employs 12 people and is located at 720 N. Cedarbrook.

Certified Metals is an authorized distributor for all domestic stainless steel mills including Allegheny-Ludlum, Avesta-Sheffield, J & L Specialty Steel, Phoenix Tube, Associated Tube Co., Slater Steel, Al-Tech Specialty Steel and Bristol Pipe & Tube.

The company's sales area comprises the Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma trade area.

The 360-acre Partnership Industrial Center, developed in 1993 along I-44 in northeast Springfield, is the result of the economic development public/private partnership between the city of Springfield, City Utilities, the chamber and the Springfield Business and Development Corporation.

The partnership was formed in 1991 to promote and encourage the retention and creation of quality manufacturing and industrial jobs in the Springfield area.

Seventeen companies are located or plan to locate in the industrial park, according to the chamber. They are AC Buckhorn; AmeriPride Linen and Apparel Services; Polar Custom Trailers; The Maiman Company; Unimark Plastics Company; Canbrands Products; Dameron Color Labs; Central States Industrial; Cintas, The Uniform People; Reckitt Benckiser; ReGen Technologies; Hawker Springfield; Diesel Exchange; DaBryan Coach Builders; Megavolt; Digital Monitoring Products and Certified Metals Inc.

For more information , call the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce at 862-5567.