West Side Tractor is planning a $14 million headquarters in the same town where the family-owned company was founded in 1962.
The John Deere construction and forestry equipment dealer has outgrown its 3.5-acre site in Naperville, Illinois, and is renovating two former auto dealerships on 11 acres in Lisle, where the Benck family started its business.
The new site will allow the company to double its building space to 75,000 square feet over the current headquarters, once renovations are completed. Located at 3300 Ogden Avenue near Interstates 88 and 355, about 5 miles from the current site, it will not only consist of the corporate headquarters but will offer equipment sales and rentals, parts and service.
It will also help bring new life and investment to a site that had closed due to the 2008 recession, the company says.
“We’re proud of our roots and are thrilled to be able to reinvigorate this part of Ogden Avenue, bringing high-quality technical and sales jobs back to the community,” says Diane Benck, owner and vice president of general operations.
The new headquarters will include a dealer showroom and a 13-bay area for servicing equipment. The shop will have 10- and 15-ton craning capacities, and there will be a large parts warehouse. The company says the shop will also have WiFi, so technicians can access technical data via laptop. A large training area for technicians on the top floor will also be available for use by customers.
The new location has some other features designed to benefit employees, including meeting spaces and private offices, sit-stand desks, a rooftop patio and a locker room tailored for technicians.
“This area has been our home since Mom and Dad pulled together nickels to start this business, and it’s going to be our flagship home for the next 50 years,” Benck says. “So we have designed this facility to be a source of pride along with purpose.
“We’re a third-generation business today, and it’s amazing to be designing a facility that you could see the fourth and fifth generations of your family using to run our business. It’s our version of the American dream.”
West Side Tractor has 10 locations in Illinois, Indiana and south Michigan. It plans to open an 11th branch in Terre Haute, Indiana, in June.