A 140,000 sq. ft. expansion of manufacturing and office space at Quixote Transportation Safety's Pell City, AL manufacturing facility is now complete. This latest expansion has nearly doubled the size of the facility where Energy Absorption Systems crash cushions, and impact attenuators are made, as are several other QTS companies' products and systems.
The $5 million dollar expansion was completed virtually one year from its inception, with construction beginning on the project March 1, 2001.
Dick McGauran, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing for Quixote Transportation Safety, explained that the expansion was undertaken for two primary reasons; 1) the growing volume from existing Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. and Safe-Hit Corporation business, and 2) the manufacturing and/or assembly of new, .QTS products that have resulted from the company's aggressive acquisition mode the past few years.
"This expansion is highly representative of the tremendous growth Quixote Transportation Safety is experiencing," adds James E. Connell, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Quixote Transportation Safety, Inc. "While some of our competitors would like the industry to believe we are slumping, the expansion at our Pell City facility shows that just the opposite is true.
"Not only will the extra space allow us to continue to manufacture and deliver tried and true line of crash cushions and impact attenuators in a timely fashion, as demand for these products continues to grow, but it also allows the integration of manufacturing and distribution of many of the products of our newer acquisitions as well."
The facility in Pell City was opened by Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. in November of 1987, and in 1995 expanded from 80,000 sq. ft. to 160,000. This latest expansion to 300,000 sq. ft. marks the second major expansion undertaken, and includes 10,000 sq. ft. of new office space. The facility employs 220 plant and office workers.
"We made a nearly $5 million dollar investment in a physical facility at a time when the general economy is sluggish and a lot of U.S. companies are cutting back or standing pat relative to capital expenditures," comments Les Jezuit, Chairman and CEO at Quixote Corporation. "We are moving forward, which is a very positive sign for our customers, distributors, employees and shareholders."
Quixote Corporation (www.quixotecorp.com) , through its wholly owned subsidiaries; Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. (www.energyabsorption.com) and Quixote Transportation Safety Inc, is the world's leading manufacturer of energy-absorbing highway crash cushions, truck mounted attenuators, computerized highway advisory radio transmitting systems, electronic wireless measuring and sensing services, weather forecasting stations; electronic variable message signs, flexible post delineators and other highway safety, products and services.