Springfield manufacturer plans $6.5M investment in PIC West

A Springfield manufacturing company that changed ownership in recent years is expanding with a new facility in Partnership Industrial Center West.

Press Room Equipment LLC intends to invest $6.5 million and create 10 jobs with the construction of a 32,000-square-foot facility, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The manufacturer of press feeding and coil handling equipment currently operates at 807 N. Prince Lane in northeast Springfield.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and its Springfield Business Development Corp. economic development arm are scheduled to host a groundbreaking ceremony for Press Room Equipment at 3:15 p.m. today at PIC West Site H, which is located approximately at 4735 W. Division St. The PIC West website indicates Site H is just north of Gold Mechanical Inc.

"We are leaving a building we have called home since 1991 and moving into a facility that is not only 60% larger but is brand new and designed to fit our workflow in the most efficient manner," said Gary Moore, Press Room Equipment general manager, in the release.

Originally established in Rhode Island, Press Room Equipment moved to Missouri in the 1990s. The Bradbury Group, based in Moundridge, Kansas, purchased Press Room Equipment in 2023 from EnSight Solutions, under the umbrella of Strafford-based manufacturing company Amprod LLC.

“When we met the team at PRE, it was clear that our shared values made them a natural fit for our group,” said David Cox, CEO of The Bradbury Group, in the release. “Our investment in PRE and expansion in Springfield capitalizes on the region’s growing technical labor market in southwest Missouri. A skilled workforce is essential to our group of companies, and by partnering with Ozarks Technical [Community] College, the city of Springfield and the team at PRE, we are strengthening our ability to achieve our 2028 strategic priorities: focus on our core, expand our solutions and live our values.”