Manufacturing

Santa Ana, Calif.-based Advanced Medical Optics has begun construction on the 180,000-sf Center of Excellence for Manufacturing in Milpitas, Calif. Designed by Ware Malcolm, the building is comprised of 80,000 sf of office and 100,000 sf of manufacturing, including a laser surgery demonstration/showroom, a reception area, training facilities, conference facilities, and offices. Construction is slated for completion in December 2007. The general contractor is San Francisco-based BCCI Construction.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation broke ground in fall of 2006 on a multi-tenant industrial building designed by Vollmer Associates. The project represents the first phase of an expansion program that will add 400,000 sf of new industrial space to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Six new buildings are planned for development over the next three years. The new three-story building at Perry Street will provide approximately 89,000 sf of space for industrial companies.

Ford Motor Co. has selected Dallas-based Trammell Crow to provide comprehensive real estate management for Ford's facilities in the United States and Canada. Totaling 30 million sf, the contract includes brokerage, transaction management, lease administration, facility management, and construction project management for Ford's North American portfolio. Ford is headquartered in Dearborn, Mich.

Motorola has opened a new research and development center in the Binjiang district of the Hi-tech Industry Development Zone in Hangzhou, China. The facility will develop, test, and launch software and hardware for integration in consumer products.

SAFC, a custom chemical manufacturing unit of Sigma Aldrich, has completed a $12-million expansion of its Madison, Wisc., facility. The Advanced Pharma Intermediates (API) building was expanded by 38,000 sf, more than doubling the existing 23,500-sf facility and its cGMP manufacturing capabilities. The two-story project added three new kilo laboratories, increased storage and warehouse space, and expanded SAFC's R&D laboratores to eight. The facility will begin commercial operations when it officially opens in March.

Affymetrix, a maker of DNA array chi, has initiated construction on a new 110,584-sf manufacturing plant in West Sacramento, Calif. Accommodating production lines for the company's next generation of high-resolution GeneChips, the facility will double Affymetrix's output by the second half of 2007. Affymetrix's existing West Sacramento facility is 52,000 sf. Additionally, Affymetrix has purchased a 100,000-sf former semiconductor factory in Singapore which it will convert for production.

Hitachi Transport System Ltd,, a subsidiary of consumer electronics maker Hitachi, has selected global facilities and services provider ProLogis of Denver to construct a 569,000-sf distribution center in Osaka, Japan. The five story facility, dubbed the ProLogis Parc Maishima II, is slated for completion in the second half of 2006.

Printing and prototype systems manufacturer 3D Systems Corp . is relocating its headquarters to Waterford Park in Rock Hill, S.C. The first phase of the $10-million, 75,000-sf facility will reach completion in September 2006. The developer for the project is Koll Development Co. with Choate Construction Co. as general contractor. 3D Systems will close its operations in Grand Junction, Colo., and Valencia, Calif. The next phase of the Rock Hill campus is slated for completion in late 2008.

Chesterfield, Mo.-based MiTek Industries is building a 177,600-sf machinery manufacturing facility on ten acres in the Fountain Lakes Commerce Center in St. Charles, Mo. Replacing MiTek's current Earth City plant, the new facility will feature expanded R&D and office space. The project team includes consultant Balke Brown Associates and general contractor Tarlton Corp. Completion is slated for summer of 2006. MiTek is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Plymouth, Mich.-based Atlas Tube, the world's largest manufacturer of hollow structural sections, is initiating construction on a $55-million manufacturing plant in Blytheville, Ark. The 450,000-sf facility will begin production in the third quarter of 2006 with full operations under way by year-end. Located near Nucor Steel Arkansas, the plant is Atlas' fifth manufacturing plant and will bring total annual production capacity up to 1.5 million tons per year.

Cobey Inc., a Clarence-based manufacturer of industrial pump systems, will build a 90,000-sf headquarters and manufacturing plant on 12 acres in the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park in Buffalo, N.Y. The $10-million facility will consist of 72,000-sf of manufacturing operations and 18,000 sf of office and administrative space. Construction is slated to begin in late 2005 or early 2006.

BD Medical Pharmaceutical Systems , a maker of medical technology products, will broke ground on a $33.5-million addition to its Columbus, Ohio, manufacturing plant October 13, 2005. The project is comprised of a 15,000-sf sterilization addition to the existing 230,000-sf facility and equipment to increase manufacturing and production capacity for glass drug containers. One-third of the new production capacity will be functional in one year. The sterilization facility is slated for completion in two years.

Pacific Allied Products , the largest plastics manufacturer in Hawaii, will open a 30,000-sf plant in Kapolei’s Campbell Industrial Park in October 2005. The $5-million manufacturing plant and state-of-the-art bottling equipment will enable Pacific Allied Products to triple its current annual production of 60 million bottles to over 200 million bottles. Pacific Allied Products produces bottles for Coca-Cola, Pepsi , and other companies.

Unilin Flooring is near to completing the first phase of its planned 1.1 million-sf manufacturing plant in Thomasville, N.C. Phase one, a 600,000-sf project including facilities for the press, cutting and milling, impregnation, and packaging will become operational in July 2005. Construction on a 14-dock distribution center will reach completion in August 2005.

Oiles America Corp ., a maker of self-lubricating bearings, has recently completed a 32,000-sf expansion of its Concord, N.C., plant. Built by general contractor C.M. Black Construction Co., the $2-million addition will raise employment at the facility to 100 workers. Sited in The International Business Park at Concord, the expansion of Oiles' existing 46,000-sf plant to a footprint of 78,000 sf will enable the company to relocate headquarters operations to the facility from Plymouth, Mich.