Local manufacturer Co-Line Welding, Inc. began site preparation for their next building expansion last week Monday, less than 48 hours after the company held an employee appreciation event and community fireworks show. Co-Line, owned by Dale, Tana, Eric, and Faye Brand, has been toying with expanding their north facility for over four years. But several obstacles, including main electrical feed, rural water, fiber phone service, and buried “treasures” from the original farmstead, caused pause for the growing manufacturing company.

“We have been space constrained in our fabrication areas now for a couple years, and our only option left for a building addition before we cross T-33 was a final addition to our original north manufacturing facility,” said Eric Brand.  The north facility was the first manufacturing building built in 1990. It was added on to in 1994, 1998, and 2001. For $600,  in 1990, Dale could have purchased an expandable wall, but he told the contractor with passion that the 10,000 square-foot building was the last building he would ever need. Fast forward 34 years, and the company has had seven expansion projects and will soon have 442,000 square feet of manufacturing functions under roof in four separate facilities crossing the Mahaska/Jasper County line.

Opportunity was the key with this next expansion. “Building manufacturer Chief had a cancellation in their schedule. Our preferred building contractor, Jensen Builders, was able to squeeze us into their fall schedule, and Brackin Land Improvement jumped right in to assist our team with the dirt work,” said Eric. “It came about quickly, and everyone has responded well.”

The expansion will cover where the original Brand home and original repair facility was that was destroyed by a tornado in 2007. More than 17,000 yards of dirt will need to be moved. The first week included removing top soil, excavating perimeter concrete, and milling out the asphalt driveway and parking lots. Scrapers have lowered the elevation to the new floor level with more dirt yet to be moved. Employee parking has been relocated and truck access has been rerouted temporarily.

Concrete, including 91,000 square feet of exterior paving and 70,000 square feet of interior building concrete is scheduled to begin Sept. 4. The building will be delivered in October with plans to be fully enclosed by December.

With the space constraints in their South fabrication facility, Co-Line plans to relocate numerous fabrication pieces to the new area. Known as a premier job shop for customers across the USA, Co-Line specializes in metal fabrication including laser cutting, sawing, stamping, bending, manual and robotic welding, machining, paint and powder finishing, and assembly.

“While timing is a bit rushed and an economy slump appears to be on the horizon, Co-Line has always seized opportunities and is moving forward with our third largest expansion. This will position us well for continued growth opportunities. It’s an exciting time to be part of Team Co-Line - shaping the metal that moves the world,” concluded Brand.

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