Webco to fill vacant Pure-Flo plant

Webco Inc. announced March 13 its plan to relocate to the site of the former ITT/Pure-Flo Precision facility, 3300 E. Pythian, which closed at the end of last year, citing increased competition, overall economic weakness and excess industry capacity.

“We contacted them the same day the news broke on the building (becoming) available,” said Webco General Manager Ron Gannon. “It’s the perfect building for us.”

Gannon would not disclose a purchase price for the building, nor would Pure-Flo spokesperson Bjorn Von Euler.

Gannon also did not give an estimated relocation cost, but he said the new building is located in an enhanced enterprise zone, providing some “advantages that should make us much more efficient on our cost side.”

Webco officials hope to begin the relocation April 1 and finish by the end of May. Gannon said he does not anticipate any downtime in operations during the move.

The relocation will allow Webco to consolidate its current four-building operation into one facility at the 15-acre site. The building has 100,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity – 20,000 square feet more than Webco’s facility at 711 N. Prince Lane.

The increased manufacturing space, as well as open land for additional buildings, will allow the air-handling equipment manufacturer to get the ball rolling on a year-old expansion plan, Gannon said. Webco officials originally had their eye on a facility near Springfield-Branson National Airport.

Gannon predicts that after about a year of moving in and getting situated, the company will begin increasing its operations – and its 130-employee work force, though he couldn’t estimate by how much.

A surge in orders in the pharmaceutical, education and health care facility industries is driving the need for more space, Gannon said. The manufacturer once relied heavily on automotive orders.

Also changing at Webco is the way it assembles its products.

The extra space will allow for wider crane bays and work areas, Gannon said, which will give the company a chance to further implement demand flow technology.

“(DFT) is where you build your sub-assembly products adjacent to where you do your final assembly,” he said. “It saves a ton of money and wasted effort and movement.”

Webco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Providence, R.I.-based Nortek Inc. and a division of CES Group Inc., has operated in Springfield since 1977.

Most Webco clients are scattered across the country, many concentrated on the East Coast. Local clients include St. John’s Health System and Missouri State University.