Newton Manufacturing buildings for sale

The building that has been home to Newton Manufacturing since 1943 is for sale.

Hilco Real Estate, LLC, an Illinois firm, recently announced the upcoming sale of both the main, older Newton Manufacturing building, which sits on the southwest corner of East 12th Street South and First Avenue East, and the warehouse building on the other side of East 12th Street. The sale will take place in the form of submitting offers to Hilco by 5 p.m. on Jan. 28.

Founded in 1909, the Newton Manufacturing Company operated on a small staff the past few years. The company had 59 employees and a nationwide support staff of about 300 when it filed bankruptcy paperwork in court late last spring, and was soon purchased by Halo Branded Solutions, based in Sterling, Ill.

Both the 37,000-square-foot brick office complex and the separate 38,000- square-foot warehouse building are for sale. The warehouse building is being used by a waterslide manufacturer named Avalanche Composites, which was leasing it from Newton Manufacturing.

Joel Schneider, senior vice president of Hilco Real Estate, said the format of the sale should help a transaction happen quickly.

“With the increasingly tightening industrial market throughout the entire region, this sale provides the ideal platform to guarantee the property is sold in an accelerated timeframe, while exposing it to a large universe of buyers in order to generate true market value,” Schneider said. “The sale represents a great opportunity for owner occupants, investors or developer to name their price on these highly-versatile properties with great upside potential.”

Eric Kadow of Avalanche said the company is still using the warehouse, but is in the process of moving to a similar facility in Grinnell.

“Frank (Liebl) and others really helped us get started here in Newton, and we looked at some places here, but nothing met our needs,” Kadow said. “We thank everyone who helped us, and we looked into buying the (Newton Manufacturing) buildings, but that didn’t work out. We wish our move could have been avoided, but we have found a home.”

Kadow said Avalanche will take eight of its 10 employees to the Grinnell facility.

Newton Development Corporation Executive Director Frank Liebl said Halo Branded Solutions has relocated about 12 to 15 former Newton Manufacturing employees to a small office support center, located in a North 13th Avenue East building it shares with radio station KCOB.

Newton Manufacturing was an employee-owned company manufacturer since 1988, selling specialty advertising products.

The main building spans multiple levels and is arranged with both private and open office space, executive conference rooms, storage/warehouse space, production areas, an employee lounge, multiple loading doors and a maintenance shop. The purchase of the property includes all remaining office furniture and equipment, representing a virtual turn-key scenario for a new user.

The total real estate, including the three parking lots, is 3.78 acres.

The warehouse building is zoned “light industrial.” It has 2,600 square feet of finished office space and more than 35,500 square feet of manufacturing/warehouse space, with ceilings averaging 16 feet high. The building is heated and cooled via roof-mounted HVAC units.

The warehouse offers a flexible layout providing for efficient product flow and storage capacity, with four grade-level doors along the south, east and west elevations, as well as additional acreage for trailer parking, making it well-suited for a variety of users.

Interested buyers can view the property by appointment only. Hilco can be contacted to schedule a tour at 855-755-2300. Hilco is working in cooperation with NAI Optimum, which is headquartered in West Des Moines.

Newton Manufacturing President Mancil Laidig said, in a bankruptcy court statement, that sales and staff had dwindled from annual sales of $83 million, 167 employees, and about 700 independent salespeople in 2000, to $26.2 million in sales, 59 staff and about 400 salespeople for the 12 months ending March 31, 2015.

The company was founded in 1909 by George Newton, but hasn’t made new products since a fire destroyed manufacturing facilities in 1943. The “Manufacturing” name was left intact for brand recognition.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com