McGregor Metal to start $2 million building addition, hire 50 people

McGregor Metal is slated to start construction soon on a 21,000 square foot addition to one of its Springfield facilities as part of larger plans to invest a total of $10 million into operations and hire an additional 50 workers.

The building addition will take place at McGregor’s facility on Leffel Lane, and is expected to be completed by November. Construction is slated to start next month. The project represents an investment of more than $2.25 million and is part of a larger investment pledge of $10 million that company officials say will go into new equipment, workspace improvements and personnel.

That money is expected to be spent by the end of this year and also represents recent purchases that include new manufacturing equipment and other upgrades to operations. McGregor is also looking to grow its workforce by 50 over the next eight months.

The company currently has 360 employees and is looking to surpass 400 going into 2023. That latter would represent the most workers in the Springfield-based company’s history, which operates four facilities in the area, said Jamie McGregor, the manufacturer’s CEO.

McGregor currently operates a total of four facilities in the Springfield area. The new hires would be spread out thorough the company’s local footprint. The millions of dollars in investment and the need for more workers stems from an increase in orders for the manufacturer that provides services for multiple industries including the automotive one.

The demand and a growing clientele base for the company’s automotive work lead to the purchasing of new machines and plans for the Leffel expansion.

“Unprecedented growth in our automotive segment required us to increase our footprint where we do our welding,” commented Jamie McGregor, Chief Executive Officer. “It’s an exciting time in our history as we make an eight figure investment in our future to accommodate $100 million in sales by 2024. We are beyond thrilled,” Jamie McGregor said.

McGregor’s annual revenues have steadily grown since dropping to a low of $43 million in 2020 due to the pandemic. Before that, revenues had gone from $76 million in 2014 to $57 million in 2019. However, revenues have began to bounce back. Last year, the company saw about $60 million in sales and is projecting $80 million in sales by the end of 2022.

Supply chain issues have improved, and the company has adapted to pre-pandemic challenges by finding new clients as well as making changes in terms of products and parts.

The manufacturer plans to see $100 million in sales by the next year or two, McGregor said, noting that figure would represent the largest in sales revenue in the company’s history.

Growth in business and products have led to the company needing more workers to fulfill orders. The company had about 270 associates leading up to the pandemic before that number dropped down to under 100 during 2020.

Now the company is growing back its workforce and has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.

“We must increase our workforce in order to fulfill the aggressive production targets we anticipate from our customers,” said Kara Williams, the Director of Human Resources for McGregor.

The addition to the Leffel facility as well as the need to hire 50 more employees follows a decision by the company earlier this year to rebrand itself from McGregor Metalworking Companies to McGregor Metal. The company’s four facilities in Springfield, each with a distinctive name and brand, are following suit.

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