A Grand Rapids-area drivetrain components remanufacturer has expanded into a newly renovated building and plans to add 130 jobs to accommodate growing demand for electric vehicle components.
Weller Truck Parts’ new space at 1250 60th St. in Wyoming marks the fifth building in West Michigan for the company, which is part of the Indiana-based Jasper Holdings Inc. group of employee-owned companies.
The company recently acquired and renovated the existing 131,000-square-foot building, which is now equipped with more than 118,000 square feet of remanufacturing space. The remaining square footage includes office space for the company’s research and development teams. An affiliate of Weller Truck Parts acquired the 60th Street property for $13 million in November 2023, according to property records.
The new building will enable Weller Truck Parts to accommodate growth in the heavy-duty truck parts aftermarket and also boosts the company’s capabilities in the electric vehicle space, company executives say.
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“The product is ever-changing and becoming more automated, and the future of EVs and the electronics associated with them is a large part of the growth of our company,” said Terry Stranz, president and COO of Weller Truck Parts.
Indeed, the electric vehicle transition could further boost the U.S. auto remanufacturing market, which is forecasted to grow by 8.7% annually by 2030 when it reaches a value of $118.2 billion, up from $60.8 billion in 2022, according to Coherent Market Insights.
Established in Muskegon in 1928, Weller Truck Parts remanufactures and distributes drivetrain components for heavy duty vehicles. The company’s corporate headquarters located at 1500 Gezon Parkway SW in Wyoming spans 20 acres and houses a large majority of the company’s manufacturing operations.
The new facility will be used for the production of automated manual transmissions, electronic axles and other electronic and mechatronic components for heavy duty trucks.
Stranz said the company was looking to expand to support growth, and the building on 60th Street near its headquarters became available as a lease option with a possibility of lease-to-own. The company purchased the building once the ownership option was available.
“We’re really not looking to lease — we’re looking to employ people and manufacture product here for many years, so we really need to own our own manufacturing facilities because we have to invest a lot of equipment and technology into those buildings,” Stranz said.
The company expects the expansion will create 130 new jobs over the next three to five years. Weller Truck Parts currently employs 1,200 total employees with about 700 in the greater Grand Rapids area.
Stranz said the auto industry’s ongoing shift to electrification will prompt not only new manufacturing positions but also roles with engineering and electronic remanufacturing.
“As we expand into newer products, both on the electronic side and non-electronic products in the EVs that are coming, we know that’s going to take an expansion of people,” Stranz said.
Weller Truck Parts, which has been employee-owned for about 10 years, aims to keep growing in the Grand Rapids area, Stranz added.
“The West Michigan area has continued to supply us with the good people we need to grow and keep expanding, so it’s been a really great community for us to be able to do that,” Stranz said.
In addition to the Wyoming expansion, Weller Truck Parts also recently opened a new distribution center in San Antonio, Texas, and is scheduled to open new distribution centers in Albuquerque, N.M., and Oklahoma City, Okla., this year.
The company has 39 distribution locations throughout the U.S. that are supplied by its West Michigan manufacturing operations.
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