A West Michigan family-owned metal fabricator has completed a $5 million expansion at its Ottawa County headquarters as the company seeks growth opportunities in supplying components for data centers.
DeWys Metal Solutions Inc. held a ribbon cutting Friday to celebrate the completion of a 10,000-square-foot, two-story addition to its headquarters at 15300 8th Ave. in Wright Township. DeWys launched the expansion in November 2023, and construction was completed in August.
The approximately 150,000-square-foot facility includes office and manufacturing space and houses about 200 of the company’s 280 employees, while the rest work at DeWys’ three other West Michigan locations. The headquarters expansion is expected to create 80 jobs over the next three years.
The state backed the expansion with a $560,000 performance-based Jobs Ready Michigan Program grant, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during Friday’s ribbon cutting that DeWys’ growth over the past half-century is “such a great Michigan story.”
“A company that is investing in itself, investing in its employees, growing its base, creating 80 good-paying jobs and growing its footprint right here in West Michigan. … This is what happens when every layer of government can work together with the private sector to make sure that you can stay competitive and that we can get projects like this over the finish line,” Whitmer said.
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Whitmer added that the company of late has made a name for itself fabricating metal enclosures for data centers.
“We know (this) is crucial to the future of AI,” she said. “The whole world has changed at such a rapid clip, and this work is going to be pivotal to our success in it. We’re proud to be a partner in building on the legacy of dependable manufacturing right here in Michigan. We’ll continue to have your backs and continue to be your partner as you confront whatever issues are in front of you.”
Crain’s Grand Rapids Business reported earlier this week that Microsoft Corp. is examining at least two large sites totaling nearly 600 acres, one in Kent County and one in Allegan County, for potential data centers. Las Vegas-based data-storage company Switch already operates a massive data center in Gaines Township.
So far, DeWys Metal Solutions has added about 25 to 30 of the 80 jobs it committed to creating over a three-year period. The new jobs include manufacturing, engineering, technical and administrative positions.
CEO Jon DeWys told Friday’s crowd of about 100 employees, local officials and customers that the company was proud to be able to choose Wright Township over a competing site in Indiana for this expansion, which was about 10 years in the making.
“We got to a point where we just ran out of space,” he said. “We had team members here crammed in every nook and cranny … and now we have a space that we can all appreciate, and it’s a place that it’s amazing just to see.”
DeWys’ late brother, Mark DeWys, founded the company in 1977 as DeWys Manufacturing Inc. They built the Wright Township location in 1987 and have added onto it six times over the years.
The company rebranded as DeWys Metal Solutions in 2021 to reflect the increasing diversity of its portfolio that grew in part through acquisitions over the past seven years. That includes the acquisition of American Grower Resource in 2017, which helped DeWys gain a foothold in the agriculture space, as well as ReFab in 2020.
DeWys Metal Solutions’ portfolio provides custom metal fabrication, laser cutting, powder coating, product assembly, and engineering and design services for customers across the U.S. in multiple industries. In addition to American Grower Resource and ReFab, other subsidiaries based out of the newly expanded office are Shoreline Powder Coating, Wyze Designs, DeWys Stainless Solutions and DeWys Manufacturing.
The new office space primarily houses employees in salaried positions such as engineering, technical and administrative roles. The project follows a $7 million expansion in 2019 that added 30,000 square feet and 41 new jobs.
Plainfield Township-based Progressive Companies was the architect on the latest expansion, and Kentwood-based Wolverine Building Group was the construction manager.
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