Sullair Commences Major Expansion in Michigan City
Sullair, an industry leader in innovative compressed air solutions since 1965, this week announced it is making a major capital investment to expand its North America operations and headquarters campus in Michigan City, Ind.
“This is further evidence of our commitment to the Michigan City community and to making the necessary investments in the equipment and facilities needed to become a stronger air compressor manufacturer,” said Charlie Takeuchi, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Sullair. “We’re excited to break ground on the project and change the face of Sullair.”
The approximately $30 million expansion project, which broke ground on October 4th, includes the construction of a new 80,000-square-foot manufacturing building, a canopied storage building and an additional parking lot for employees. The project will also reconfigure and optimize portions of the existing, primary 280,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on the campus.
“Following the acquisition of Sullair by Hitachi in 2017, our business has continued to grow both domestically and internationally," added Takeuchi. “To continue our aggressive growth in an increasingly competitive and consolidating space, we are making significant investments in Michigan City, providing us more flexibility in how we run our business.”
The expansion will allow Sullair to increase its manufacturing capacity and production of air compressors. With that, the company anticipates adding more than 30 full-time jobs in Michigan City. At the Michigan City campus, Sullair produces compressors for construction and industrial applications in nearly every vertical. The company also manufactures components such as air ends, used in oil and gas applications worldwide.
“As our business grows, we must grow with it,” said Takeuchi. “Ultimately, this investment will allow us to better meet our end customers’ needs and ensure Sullair is best-positioned for years to come.”
This expansion comes on the heels of Sullair investing more than $16 million to upgrade its Michigan City-based rotor shop equipment in 2017. Since the founding of Sullair in 1965, the company has designed and manufactured its rotors and air end assemblies in Michigan City.
Since 1965, Sullair has developed and manufactured air compressors with proven reliability and wear-free durability. Sullair is globally recognized as a leading manufacturer of air compressors for use in manufacturing, oil and gas operations, food processing, construction and more. Sullair has manufacturing capabilities in Michigan City, Ind., and Shenzhen and Suzhou, China; as well as a joint venture (IHI-Sullair) based in Suzhou.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.