Marion Body Works opened a satellite facility in Shawano four years ago after more than a century of fabricating commercial truck bodies in Marion, but now the company is looking at expanding its operation even more.
City Administrator Eddie Sheppard told the Shawano Industrial and Commercial Development Committee on Aug. 20 that Marion is looking at more space adjacent to its current 113,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Bay Lakes Industrial Park. He said the space would be the staging area for some of the chassis they’re building.
Right now, Marion is looking to lease the land, according to Sheppard, although there are discussions about potentially building more infrastructure to keep up with demand.
“They’re doing really well, and they’re liking the Shawano location,” Sheppard said. “Their immediate needs are some additional space. They reached out … just to talk about what their long-term plans are.”
The lease would be in six-month increments, Sheppard said.
Marion is also looking at purchasing the building it works out of, according to Sheppard, to do some modifications and increase production. However, the purchase has not occurred yet, he said.
“These are very preliminary conversations but enough so where they want to talk about a lease, and even within that lease, what it can transition into,” Sheppard said. “I think it’s very positive that they’re relatively new to Shawano, although they’re not a new company — they’ve been in Marion forever — but the Shawano location seems to have been a real solid addition for the company and they want to make a long-term change.”
Sheppard said the lease would be drafted for the committee to vote on at its Sept. 17 meeting. He noted that if another company is interested in purchasing that property, Marion would have to decide whether to buy outright or vacate the land.
“We wouldn’t set it up in any way that would restrict development,” Sheppard said.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
