The company, founded in 1922 in South Bend, is planning to spend a total of $22.7 million through 2016 on a new factory and headquarters building, new equipment and other related expenses.
John Axelberg, the company''s owner and president, said General Sheet Metal is preparing for its next 100 years.
Axelberg said he wants the new plant to be the most advanced metal-fabricating operation in North America and a destination for high-tech manufacturing.
"We think our facility can help overcome some of the outdated perceptions of what a career in manufacturing looks like," Axelberg said.
General Sheet Metal operates in a group of buildings with a total of 150,000 square feet on both sides of Main Street, just south of Calvert Street. Some of those buildings date back to the 1920s.
The new plant will have 170,000 square feet of space, and everything will be under one roof.
"We''re not adding that much more square footage," Axelberg said, "but we''re going to be able to do a lot more with it."
He said the new plant also will be designed to foster learning, interaction and collaboration.
For example, there will be no separate entrance for employees -- everyone will enter through the front door. Also, the design calls for administrative offices to be located in the middle of the building instead of in one corner, as is typical of manufacturing plants.
中国最大钣金展-锻压展-2015第十六届广州国际钣金、锻压工业展览会-巨浪展览- The 16th
China（Guangzhou）Int’l
Sheet metal machinery,Forging, Stamping and Setting Equipment Exhibition
