Flexicon Corp. broke ground for an expansion that doubles the size of its U.S. headquarters in Bethlehem, Pa.

"We built the current 91,000-square-foot facility in 2001 on an oversized site owned by Flexicon that had acres of additional prime real estate beyond what was needed for the 2001 building, with the intention of expanding the building as demand for Flexicon equipment exceeded our capacity to produce it," says David Gill, president and CEO.

The addition will allow the steel forming, welding, grinding/polishing and blasting/painting departments to double in size, and the electrical controls department to increase four-fold. The assembly department, which will be re-located into the new space, will be eight times larger than before, and provide up to 38 feet of overhead clearance to erect larger systems and enhance factory acceptance testing.

Other plant floor increases include a dedicated 4,000-square-foot area for new product development, and a total of 10 tailgate loading docks and two drive-in doors.

Office space will increase to 37,000 square feet, with the first floor accommodating an expanded electrical engineering department, as well as meeting/training rooms, which are combined with a new cafeteria using collapsible walls to seat 400 during special events for customers, representatives and personnel. Second floor offices will house the executive management team, global management group,information technology department and project engineering division, and include six conference rooms.

The Bethlehem headquarters also oversees Flexicon operations located in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Chile and Singapore.

"Doubling the size of our world headquarters will have the immediate effect of reducing wait times for equipment deliveries, while allowing us to develop new product lines and secure patents on an accelerated basis, positioning Flexicon for exponential growth," says Gill.