By Austin Montgomery January 18, 2022
BELOIT
Welders Supply Company in Beloit is growing its roots further in the community, with the company announcing plans for a production expansion and new administrative office facility in Beloit.
The company purchased the former Cub Foods grocery store building at 20 Park Ave. on Oct. 5, according to Wisconsin Department of Revenue property records. The building was purchased from Integrated Lubricants of Wisconsin. Integrated Lubricants purchased the property in April of 2015 and added multiple renovations to the property. Prior to that, the property was vacated by Cub Foods in 2009 following the economic recession, Beloit Daily News archives show.
On Tuesday, Welders Supply Company Corporate Development Director Therese Mueller-McLain confirmed the company’s plans to expand to the Park Avenue property to include new corporate administrative officers; an increased dry ice production facility and automated gas filling operation; and an expanded warehouse space for fulfilling online orders at www.weldersupply.com.
Welders Supply Company currently has two offices in Beloit at 111 Barrett Place and 704 Fourth St., with the Barrett Place location serving as the original location that houses a retail store and gas filling operation. The Fourth Street space is made up of administrative offices and a dry ice production space.
“We have outgrown both facilities, which is why we were looking for a new facility and location.
We wanted to stay in Beloit because of our deep roots and ties to the community,” Mueller-McLain said, referencing the company’s founding in Beloit back in 1938.
Mueller-McLain said the new location was more conveniently located near Interstate 39/90 and was large enough to accommodate the company’s future growth needs.
“It gives us a head start rather than building from scratch so we can move into the facility more quickly,” Mueller-McLain said.
She said the company would begin “retrofitting and moving into” the new building in stages throughout this year, adding that around a dozen additional staff have been brought on to accommodate the company’s growth at the Beloit location in the last two years.
Welders Supply Company currently has three locations in Wisconsin and two in Illinois.
The Beloit Plan Commission will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when the commission will consider a zoning map amendment changing zoning from C-3 (Community Commercial District) to M-1 (Limited Manufacturing District) for the company’s expansion plan. The commission also will consider a motion to vacate a portion of Prospect Street right-of-way located between Colby Street and the Wisconsin-Illinois border as part of the project.
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