Crossdock Development Inc. coordinated the construction of a 310k sqft facility at River Ridge Commerce Center for Switzerland-based Autoneum, a supplier of acoustic and thermal insulation to auto manufacturers.
By Wesley Kerrick, Correspondent Louisville Business First
Mar 27, 2015
Louisville Business First selected the development of the Autoneum plant as the winner in the Industrial Project category of the 2015 Commercial Real Estate Awards.
The new facility created more than 200 jobs, including many high-paying engineering positions. It’s the first full-scale facility where Autoneum will implement its proprietary process of manufacturing lightweight insulation from recycled plastic.
Autoneum had been looking to move into the area. Crossdock president Lee Wilburn said his company’s recent development of a facility for Catamaran Corp., also at River Ridge, caught the auto supplier’s attention.
After about three months of planning, construction began in March 2014. As part of the development process, Wilburn visited Autoneum’s European pilot plant and worked with engineers from five countries via conference calls and online file sharing.
Equipping the building for Autoneum’s process required the installation of a “tremendous amount” of infrastructure, Wilburn said. “There were people coming through with pipes and wires and stuff in every direction, all the time.”
The building was completed at the end of December 2014. The entrance features floor-to-ceiling glass for both aesthetic value and energy efficiency.
The basics
Address: 100 River Ridge Parkway, Jeffersonville, Ind. 47130
Cost: About $25 million for the land and building; Autoneum incurred additional equipment costs
Square feet: 310,000
Owners: Crossdock Development Inc. and Pinchal & Co. LLC
Primary tenant broker: Mohr Partners Inc.
Primary owner broker: CBRE Group Inc.
Primary lead developer: Crossdock Development Inc.
Primary general contractor: AML Inc.
Primary architect: Kovert Hawkins Architects
Primary civil engineer: Accurus Engineering LLC
Primary financier: American National Insurance Co., Galveston, Texas
Primary law firm: Valenti Hanley & Robinson PLLC, Kyle Perret Galloway
The stats
200+: New jobs created.
100,000: Square feet of building expansion capability.
5: The number countries where engineers participated in the project