Press Release: Relocation Guide

ASSOCIATION OFFERS NEW INDUSTRIAL RELOCATION GUIDE
Nobody moves for fun, so when a Chicago-area plating company decided to move to larger facilities in a nearby suburb, they had good reason. Business was growing and they needed the additional space. In fact, their production line was running overtime, and they were having trouble meeting customer demand. Unfortunately, due to poor planning and bad selection of contractors, their expected production downtime went from four days to two months... and six months later they were out of business. A mishandled relocation at a time of great growth cost them their long-time customers and ultimately their entire company.

The Midwest Relocation Association (MIRA) is a new association founded to help industrial companies avoid these relocation headaches by providing educational materials and seminars. The first resource to be published by the group is an Industrial Relocation Guide, which walks the reader through the process of relocation, provides a sample timeline and a budget worksheet.

"The whole idea is to help people avoid costly mistakes or missed steps," says Tom McGuire, president of MIRA. "We began to realize what a monumental task this was when we assembled a roomful of experts in industrial relocation and discovered that no one person knew the entire process. Instead, we had to combine the expertise from over a dozen areas to get a clear picture of each step needed."

No single resource can cover every possible contingency for helping companies relocate, but MIRA¹s free Industrial Relocation Guide does provide a good place to start. One of its simplest, yet best features is an exhaustive list of items to be considered when you are relocating‹many of which are often overlooked from landscaping to data cabling, from warehouse storage to ordering new signage. Every company that has relocated has realized on the day of the move that some step was missed or some item failed to be ordered. At best these are annoyances, at worst they can break the budget and even ruin the business.

"As we examined the relocation process, and as we researched some relocation horror stories,¹ we noticed that the selection of key contractors and vendors could make or break the move", explained McGuire. "If your architect fails to plan appropriately, if your general contractor misses his deadlines, or if your real estate agent messes up the negotiation, the entire relocation process can be extended, budgets can skyrocket and downtime can increase.

On the flip-side, companies told us that a good contractor could save a tremendous amount of aggravation. An injection molding company had planned out a move and when the general contractor (G.C.) looked over the plans he started asking about phone service. No one at the company had bothered to consider the lead time it would take to transfer the phones. Even though this advice was not specifically in his area, the G.C. saved the company from having a big surprise. They would have called the phone company a week ahead of the move only to find out that there was a four week wait. As it was, they were able to get their changes in just under the wire."

Because good contractors and vendors are such an integral part of a successful relocation, MIRA has compiled a list of recommended suppliers for inclusion in the free guide. "We took great care to select companies with a good reputation," says McGuire. "In fact, we routinely check on performance and will remove recommended contractors or vendors if they are not servicing customers at the highest level."

Nobody moves for fun, but a properly handled relocation can run smoothly and even give a company a fresh start‹a chance to rethink what it does and make valuable improvements to industrial, technical and workplace performance. MIRA seeks to help toward that goal.

In addition to the Industrial Relocation Guide, MIRA plans to offer seminars and other educational information and advice to companies who are considering relocating in the Midwest. All MIRA services are free or available for a nominal fee.

Industrial Properties Magazine - March 1999