Manufacturer Makes Second Satellite Warehouse Move
CHALLENGE

Increasing e-commerce and food distribution demand was stressing manufacturer Pratt Industries’ production capabilities. Pratt, the fifth largest corrugated packaging company in the United States, had outgrown its satellite distribution facility and needed to expand into at least 100,000 square feet. Finding that space close enough to the production facility was difficult; at the time, the vacancy rate for the Janesville/Beloit market was less than 5%. In addition, Pratt still had more than 12 months remaining on its warehouse lease.

ACTION

Broker Bill Mears compiled a comprehensive inventory of available warehouse and distribution space that Pratt could move into and then identified a potential subtenant to take over the remainder of its current lease. Within a week, Mears had identified an off-market warehouse opportunity that would be available in the coming months, and quickly negotiated Pratt’s letter of intent into a signed lease.

After Pratt’s new lease was finalized, Mears returned to the matter of filling its former warehouse and solidifying the subtenant, nearby snack food manufacturer Axium Foods, which also happened to be a customer of Pratt’s corrugated products. Axium had a need for auxiliary warehousing close to its production facility, and Pratt’s former warehouse was a perfect fit.

RESULTS

• Pratt signed a five-year lease for 136,600 SF at $4.00 per square foot
• The new satellite warehouse is less than one mile from Pratt’s manufacturing facility
• Subtenant Axium Foods relieved Pratt of its obligations to the space it had outgrown

“Bill’s extensive experience has been instrumental in helping us identify warehouse opportunities and negotiate leases. This experience is what makes him our ‘go-to’ guy in [the Beloit and South Beloit] market.”
— Jeff Bieber, Pratt Industries
“Our growth demanded better proximity to our production facility; Bill came to us with the idea of taking over Pratt’s satellite space and helped us bring our operation to an ideal location.”
— Jim Himmel, Axium Foods

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