Material handling equipment builder Flexicon Corp. is building an expansion that will double the size of its current headquarters factory in Bethlehem, Pa.

“We built the current 91,000-square-foot facility in 2001 on an over-sized site owned by Flexicon that had acres of additional prime real estate beyond what was needed for the 2001 building, with the intention of expanding the building as demand for Flexicon equipment exceeded our capacity to produce it,” said David Gill, president and owner of the company.

That day has arrived.

The addition will double the size of the steel forming, welding, grinding/polishing and blasting/painting departments. The electrical controls operation will increase four-fold, Gill said.

The assembly department also will relocate in to the new space has up to 38 feet of overhead clearance, so Flexicon can build larger systems and improve its factory acceptance testing.

Other increases include a dedicated space of 4,000 square feet for new product development. The expanded plant will have 10 tailgate loading docks and two drive-in doors.

Office space will increase to 37,000 square feet.

Flexicon makes flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable converters, pneumatic conveying systems, bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag fillers, bag dump stations, drum/box/container dumpers and weight batching systems.