New facility for Fritz more than doubles square footage

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Fritz Companies Inc. is expanding its presence in Springfield.

The company, which has been in Springfield since 1983, will move into a new, 26,000-square-foot facility at 2335 W. Sunset in March of 2000, said Mike Vogt, regional vice president.

The company is now in the Elfindale Center office building, where it occupies about 12,000 square feet, Vogt said.

"With this move, we will also be creating about 100 new positions in Springfield," Vogt said.

Fritz is a publicly held company with its headquarters in San Francisco, Vogt said.

The Springfield site is one of 450 locations worldwide.

Vogt said the company is a "comprehensive global logistics provider," which offers a range of services for importing and exporting goods, such as customs house brokerage, rate forwarding, and transportation.

At the company's Springfield site, Fritz now employs about 150 people and the center operates 24 hours a day, Vogt said.

"We have many different types of jobs here: data entry, customer service and also transportation," Vogt said.

The company does not have a warehouse in Springfield. Springfield is one of its regional offices.

It serves the area the company refers to as the Great Plains region, which includes 10 offices in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Louisiana.

The building will be complete by March 15, and Fritz plans to move in as soon as possible, Vogt said.

The architect for the project is Marshall-Waters-Woody and the general contractor is Morelock-Ross. Fritz will lease the building from owner Wehr Properties, Vogt said.

The large office building will house more of the same activities the Fritz Companies' current site has, Vogt said. Springfield is a growth area for the company, he added.

"The company has found a wonderful, committed group of people here and a fantastic work ethic. There is a labor force here that is very willing to work," Vogt said.

This new building will be among Fritz Companies' largest processing centers, Vogt said.