Grizzly Industrial plans $3M expansion

Grizzly Industrial Inc. is planning a $3 million expansion to its Springfield distribution center.

The Washington-based company, which sells woodworking and metalworking machinery and tools, is adding 62,000 square feet to its 300,000-square-foot facility at 2102 W. Battlefield Road.

Robert McCoy, president of Grizzly Industrial, said the additional space will allow the company to increase inventory and bring on new products.

Additionally, the company is expanding its showroom at the corner of Kansas Expressway and Battlefield Road by 2,000 square feet. McCoy said the showroom expansion, expected to cost $300,000, will utilize previous warehousing space at the facility.

“We continue to be impressed with the community and people of Springfield. Since building our distribution center here in 1999, we continue to see tremendous growth and have chosen to continue to expand and invest in our facilities there,” McCoy said in an email. “We started the planning process in the fall of last year when we realized we would be running into capacity issues in the near future due to organic growth and planned new products.”

The company hired general contractor Springfield Builders Inc. and BRP Architects for both projects. Geoffrey Butler of BRP Architects said construction will begin this summer, and McCoy said the construction is expected to wrap up by winter.

Additional phases are planned to begin in the next five years, McCoy said, pointing to another 250,000 square feet possible. McCoy said he anticipates the company will add new jobs from the expansions but did not have an estimate of the number of positions by deadline.

According to Greene County assessor records, the company owns 12 acres at 1815 W. Battlefield Road and 40 acres at 2102 W. Battlefield Road through Balolia Properties MO LLC, named after company founder Shiraz Balolia.

McCoy became president of the company in January, succeeding Balolia, who is now the company’s chairman and CEO.