Weiss Technik North America, a manufacturer of environmental test chambers, is constructing a new, 125,000-square-foot facility in the Grand Rapids, Mich., suburb of Kentwood. The company plans to consolidate its three-building operations to the new new facility, Jeff Agar, VP/COO of WNA Grand Rapids, told mlive.com. In the process, it is expected to create 36 new jobs.
“We’ve expanded the size overall to be able to grow, so we’ll be able to add 35% more capacity with this new building,” Agar said.
The expansion represents a $25.6 million investment from the company. The company currently employs over 100 people in the greater Grand Rapids area.
“A big push was to do everything we could to stay in the West Michigan/Kentwood area,” Agar told mlive.com. “We have a really highly skilled workforce and just phenomenal people, and to replicate what we have here and do it somewhere else would be nearly impossible.” WNA expects to into the new building in April or May, Agar said.
Originally established in 1979 as Envirotronics, Inc., the company rebranded to Weiss Technik North America after it was acquired by Germany-based Schunk Group about 15 years ago. WNA manufactures environmental test chambers of various sizes for industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics and military defense. The chambers are designed to test products, such as aircraft parts, that could encounter rapid environmental and temperature changes multiple times during regular use, Agar said.
In recent years, there has been an explosion in demand for electronic equipment that can support artificial intelligence, which has led to a run-off demand for chambers that can test how the equipment will hold up under years of use.
The project received a $350,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, according to a release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Office.
In addition to MSF support, WNA also received a real property tax abatement from the city of Kentwood and a MEDC-authorized State Education Tax abatement.