Michigan manufacturer adds distribution center in region

Expansion to northern Nevada will allow Saginaw Controls to better serve its growing number of West Coast customers, says Cole Van Strydonk, a project manager and mechanical engineer with the Saginaw, Mich.-based manufacturer of commercial and industrial electrical panel boxes.

Van Strydonk says the company chose Reno it's building a 33,000-square-foot distribution facility at Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center because of Reno's proximity to markets in California, Arizona and Washington.

"We would like to become more competitive in those markets, and Reno is right on the I-80 corridor," Van Strydonk says. "The West Coast has been expanding pretty rapidly for us, and this distribution center will better serve the West Coast."

The new facility allows Saginaw to offer one- to two-day shipping to those markets. Saginaw currently manufacturers its electrical panels boxes in Michigan and distributes them throughout the U.S. from facilities in Wisconsin, Tennessee and Ohio. Turnaround times for West Coast customers averages three to four days.

Shipping from Reno also reduces freight costs, Van Strydonk says.

Saginaw Controls will employ five to six people at the site, including a warehouse manager, two inside sales and customer service representatives, and two warehousemen. Van Strydonk says all hires will be from the Reno area unless a current manager expresses interest in relocating.

"If we see the need for more salesmen they probably will be stationed out of that office," Van Strydonk says.

Miles Construction of Carson City is building the facility for Saginaw Controls, which expects to move in around Labor Day and be shipping products from TRIC early in the fourth quarter.