Habegger will move its 21 employees to the Vandalia facility; however, company officials expect to add four new full-time jobs, according to Ward.
Ward expects the Poe Avenue address to be fully operational in April.
Habegger, which was founded in 1952, is primarily a distributor of heating and air conditioning products. The business has 27 locations in five states.
Habegger Investment Group purchased the 36,000 square foot Poe Avenue building for $725,000 this month, according to Montgomery County Auditor records.
“This new location will be stocked with our full offering of HVAC equipment and supplies,” Ward said. “There will be a showroom for our wholesale customers to visit and pick up products. We’ll also provide daily deliveries to our customers in the 12-plus counties that are serviced from this location.”
Habegger officials chose the Poe Avenue site because the company was interested in having a presence near the Interstate 70 and Interstate 75 interchange, according to Ward.
The Poe Avenue had been occupied by ThyssenKrupp, which left the location in the fall of 2013, according to Rich Hopkins, Vandalia’s communications manager.
“They had a number of operations throughout the state, and they consolidated some of the locations,” Hopkins said. “The production work in the facility moved to Toledo, and some of the staff moved to the company’s Monroe facility near Cincinnati.”
City of Vandalia officials are excited that Habegger chose to move into the city.
“We knew this building would not be vacant for long, as it offers proximity to major highways and interstate visibility,” according to Greg Shackelford, Vandalia’s assistant city manager.
“Everything we have learned about The Habegger Corporation suggests it is an excellent company with an excellent reputation … and we look forward to working with them as they settle in to their new location.”
Habegger officials believe that there is a tremendous opportunity for growth at the Poe location.
“Increased warehousing space allows us to add more products that we don’t currently stock locally to meet our customers’ growing needs. With the economy rebounding strongly, we are seeing more housing starts, and numerous commercial projects are gaining traction,” Ward said. “This will drive an increased need for HVAC products in our markets, and we’ll be ready to meet those growing demands. As our business grows, we would expect to add to our local staff as needed to maintain our current high level of customer service.”
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