Onward & Upward: A Look at Folding Guard’s New Facility

2/17/2021

It’s been a busy start to the new year here at Folding Guard, and we are so excited and very proud to announce the opening of our new Warehouse and Distribution Center! This new facility, a shared space with our parent company Troax, is just one exciting step we’re taking toward growth this year at FG.

As we continue to shift our shipping operations to the new space over the coming weeks, we thought we’d lay out some of the facts, both fun and fundamental, about our new facility!

THE BULLET POINTS

  • The new facility has a whopping 116,000 square feet of floor space, a 132% increase on our current operation
  • The ceiling towers at 33 feet high, allowing for 3 levels of rack height capacity
  • Combined, these measurements total 348,000 cubic feet, a phenomenal amount of space
  • 5,000 square feet of completely renovated office space offer room for a cohesive operation
  • 13 dock doors and 2 drive-in docks for expanded shipping capacity
  • Central location with access to several major expressways: 2 miles from I-57 and I-294

THE BENEFITS

This new facility is exciting not only for us, but for our fantastic customers, too. Our Operations Manager, Tom St. Germain, notes that “With a larger capacity for inventory, we can decrease lead times and provide even more expedient service for our customers.” Our entire shipping department is moving to this new warehouse, and this is beneficial for several reasons.

One, as Tom said, the increase in space allows us to build up a stock of our standard items, decreasing lead time and improving our shipping efficiency. Secondly, the exodus of our shipping department from our current facility means that a space of nearly 22,000 square feet has been freed up to grow and improve our manufacturing capabilities.

Improvements on the space are already in the works, with plans to install an overhead crane at our brand new drive-in dock that will allow us to receive large materials that can’t be handled by forklift.

Additionally, we’re expanding our powder line, and we’re also adding a tube laser that can efficiently cut, punch holes, and modify materials for optimum customization.

“With a larger capacity for inventory, we can decrease lead times and
provide even more expedient service for our customers.”

Tom St. Germain, Operations Manager

The new Warehouse and Distribution Center will also act as a showroom for Folding Guard’s products. We are in the process of outfitting the facility with Saf-T-Fence® Partitions to create aisles and walkways, Qwik-Fence® Pallet Rack Backing to prevent inventory from falling off our 3 tiered pallet racks, Saf-T-Fence® and Versa Guard™ Partitions for guarding electrical areas, a Loss Prevention control room, a Facility Access Cage, TA-50 Military Lockers for our employee locker room, and more.

When we asked Tom to tell us the biggest overall benefit of the new facility, he wasn’t able to narrow it down to just one. According to the Operations Manager, in addition to the increase in inventory capacity, the new warehouse offers “better organization for specific product inventory, more capacity for shipping with the number of dock doors, and improved employee facilities.”

As you can see, the team at FG is very excited about the opportunities presented by the addition of this new warehouse. Between the increased shipping capacity and the chance to expand and improve our manufacturing operation, the possibilities are endless. It’s onward and upward for Folding Guard this year, and we’re so excited to have our customers, both loyal and new, along for the journey.

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