Photo: Contributed
Black Bros. Co. is growing again.
Black Bros. Co. has begun work on an 18,000-square-feet expansion of its manufacturing facility at its headquarters in Mendota, Illinois.
The new building will house the company’s roll department, where the complete process of steel-roll machining and rubber vulcanization takes place.
“We always planned to rebuild after we took down the (five storage units),” said COO Jeff Simonton, who estimated the project to be the 18th Black Bros. expansion since establishing home base in 1900.
“We considered a new laboratory or warehousing, but it just made the most sense to bring the Roll Department up to date since it’s currently in the oldest part of our building — over 100 years old. It will provide a far better working environment, a very nice, clean space with climate control and a more efficient workflow.”
Along with personal comforts, Simonton said maintaining a constant temperature will also bring benefits to the machinery manufacturer’s rubber bonding.
“Rubber is like a musical instrument; it expands and contracts with different weather. We believe tightening up the temperature range is key to having more consistency in the complete manufacturing of the rolls,” he said. “We also hope to get some new equipment in there, a new lathe that will do more than one process and allow for less handling of the roll.”
The last time Black Bros. broke ground was in 2000, when a 42,000-square-foot addition nearly doubled the overall floor space at the laminating and roll coating equipment manufacturer’s location.
With the 2024 addition, Black Bros. will grow to just under 100,000-sq. ft.
Sixth-generation owner, Evan Carroll, echoed Simonton’s sentiments.
“The new building will not only increase our footprint, but our manufacturing capabilities as a whole. And being able to better control the interior climate and having a modern workspace can only be a big bonus for employees in that area.”
