BEDFORD — What was once an empty, dilapidated manufacturing site on Bedford's north side is humming again with activity and bringing new jobs to the community.
CAP Group LLC took a nearly 100-year-old building that was once a limestone mill and later housed an aluminum recycling plant and has renovated and modernized the structure for a new purpose — trimming transmission cases that will be used in GM vehicles.
Located at Fourth and J streets, CAP Group is locally owned and operated by Doug Conrad and Larry Parsons, who also own Bedford Recycling Inc., Bedford Machine and Tool Inc. and Metal Technologies Inc. in Bloomfield.
The business currently employs 70 people and operates three shifts. Randy Lovelace, business development manager of CAP Group, said the company is hiring and will need a workforce of 100 once CAP reaches its top operational capacity.
"We are operating at 25 percent of capacity right now," Lovelace said.
Last fall, CAP began work inside the old Consolidated Stone Mill that was constructed in the 1920s. Lovelace said bringing the building up to modern manufacturing standards was a huge undertaking. The floors were in bad condition and the roof leaked, but the owners saw potential.
"There was no lighting, no insulation, the floor was rough … we pressure washed and patched the floor and put in a new ceiling," Lovelace said.
The first employees CAP hired, said Plant Manager Johnny Kemple, worked on the building's interior.
"We have some really great workers," Kemple said. "Those employees started with us were in here in November when it was 40 degrees, and we were scraping the floors. They are the most dedicated employees."
It's not the first old building the firm's owners have renovated. Bedford Machine & Tool on John Williams Boulevard was previously an old stone mill.
"We are happy to bring a great building with a local history back to life," Lovelace said. "We have always enjoyed taking a neglected piece of property and turning it back into a productive and job creating entity."
CAP Group is finishing up construction on a second structure, which will serve as a warehouse for storing the finished transmission cases and housings. It is located just north of the original building and brings the total plant capacity to 180,000 square feet.
Kemple said the warehouse will store up to 144,000 parts, which is a 12-day supply for GM.
The transmission cases are brought to the plant from GM Bedford Casting, which is located just north of CAP Group. Once the cases are trimmed, they are placed in a shot blaster, which knocks off any rough edges and gives the cases a uniform color and smooth finish. Jobs at CAP call for skilled and semi-skilled workers. The plant uses robotics technology, but also requires manpower to transport the carts of transmission cases and also operate the robotics.
At 100 percent capacity, the plant will contain 39 trim presses that are capable of handing 28 different parts numbers.
"If we hit our projections, 2.8 million parts a year will go through this place," Lovelace said.
In all, the property contains 16 acres. Lovelace said future plans for the property include making improvements to the south side of the lot, which fronts Fifth Street.
"The city of Bedford, and the Lawrence County economic group, have assisted CAP every step of the way making it possible to bring these jobs to Bedford. We have been very pleased with the quality and work ethic of the local people we have employed currently," Lovelace said.