Marisol International spans globe

The company broke ground Sept. 20 for a new Springfield headquarters and plans to open offices in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai before the end of the year.

Marisol, which means “where the sun meets the sea,” is a three-year-old company built on providing international logistics and documentation services.

The new offices are part of a plan to hit $100 million in gross sales within the next two years after being on pace for $60 million this year.

“They’re very key,” President Mike Vogt said of the planned offices. “Certainly, (they’re) gateways into the United States.”

But importing international clients’ products begins in Springfield.

The new 14,000-square-foot headquarters at 2424 W. Kingsley is expected to be complete in nine months, allowing for a move from 1645 W. Republic Road. Marshall-Waters-Woody Associates Inc. is architect, and Morelock-Ross is general contractor, according to the architectural firm.

“The continued growth in the Springfield and Midwest area has helped fuel our growth and our success,” Vogt said.

Vogt hopes to construct the headquarters for less than $2 million. He said financing terms are still being negotiated.

Marisol employs about 75 in offices in Tulsa, Okla., Oklahoma City, Memphis, Tenn., Kansas City and Chicago.

Vogt said the four new locations – New York and L.A. are planned for October and Hong Kong and Shanghai are planned for December -– will begin as small marketing offices with one-or-two-person staffs but could grow to house as many as 20 employees.

He wouldn’t disclose the cost of opening the new locations.

“When we open an office it doesn’t cost us anything,” he said. “We like to see it cover its own cost.”

Marisol was born out of corporate consolidation in July 2002. Vogt, Ruth Arneson and co-owners George Winters, Jim Simmons and Jason Colt worked for Fritz Companies Inc. before it was acquired by UPS Supply Chain Solutions in 2001. The group formed Marisol as its own venture after the corporate takeover.

Vogt said Marisol’s physical expansion won’t lead to philosophical changes associated with mega-corporations.

“We’ll always be headquartered in Springfield,” Vogt said. “We’ll always be sort of a heartland type of company, where the producer business is.”

Kevin Gerschefske, president of Stamina Products Inc., 2040 N. Alliance, has worked with Vogt and his partners since before Marisol was born. Gerschefske said Marisol’s success is no surprise.

“I think their growth, and for all the new clients they’ve had, that speaks volumes for the kind of job they do,” said Gerschefske.

Vogt said high gas prices and bottlenecks in U.S. railroad systems due to recent hurricanes have been small concerns in the trade industry. But, he said, the international trade market remains as vibrant as ever with the global spread of communication technology.

“The world just grows smaller, and trade grows exponentially from that,” he said.