Small but growing manufacturing group moves into former Asimco plant

Fri, Dec 11, 2009    to del.icio.us

GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP — A manufacturing conglomerate that makes bent tubing for fuel-sending assemblies has moved into the former Asimco building on Lake Michigan Drive near U.S. 31.

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Arete has been leasing the property for the past couple of months from a private owner that asked not to be identified, Arete President Mark Matthews said.

The former Asimco manufacturing plant, 11118 U.S. 31, is 200,000 square feet — with an additional 5,000 square feet of office space. Asimco closed in June 2007.

"They (property owners) have been extraordinary in supporting a shared vision and their investment in this community," Matthews said.

Arete and real estate officials looked at property throughout the Midwest before settling on the Grand Haven Township site, according to Matthews.

"We think this is a wonderful community to do business in," he said. "It has a great history in manufacturing and — with the manufacturing climate in Michigan — we think there is a myriad of very capable manufacturing people that we can draw from in the community."

Arete is a consolidated group of four manufacturing companies: Baker Metal Products of Spring Lake, Bent Tube Inc. of Fowlerville, East Jordan Tool and Die, and Trans Industries of Marion, Ind.

As the group's consolidation moves ahead, the company's name will eventually change from Arete to Grand Haven Industries, according to Matthews.

"This is a work in progress," he said. "The bulk of our business is tubing."

Arete officials said they hope to acquire an additional 100,000-square-foot-building on the property for a company within its parent corporation.

Arete Consolidated Group — originally based in Fowlerville — employs about 30 people. By early next year, Matthews said the company plans to employ 75-100 people; and, by the middle of 2011, about 150.

All of Baker Metal Product's employees have transferred from the Spring Lake facility to the Grand Haven Township plant, Matthews said. Employees have also moved from Fowlerville and others are expected to move from Indiana.

Matthews said the consolidated group supplies millions of parts each year to about 100 companies — mostly in the automotive industry — including Delphi, TI Automotive, Johnson Controls Inc., General Motors, Ford and Afco Industries Inc. Arete also supplies parts in the furniture, industrial, heavy truck and mining industries.

"It's turning into a wonderful success story for a lot of people," Matthews said. "Everyone who reads a newspaper knows that the auto industry is a very challenging place to do business. And the vision of the parent corporation, combined with the capabilities and the insight that we possessed in our little group, created a recipe for success in an otherwise very challenging marketplace."

Production equipment — including nearly 1,000 die sets, 13 stamping presses and other machinery — are in the process of being transferred to the Grand Haven Township site and will soon fill the plant, Matthews said. He expects to have "some level of production" there by Jan. 1.

"We're very excited about working with this company to grow in the community, and we're excited about the re-use of this facility," said David Miller, vice president economic development of the Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven-Spring Lake-Ferrysburg.