Know
St. Pete manufacturer plans expansion, more jobs
Halkey-Roberts Corp. expects to nearly double the size of its manufacturing plant in north St. Petersburg and add jobs.
The company would add 116,578 square feet to its existing 156,522 square foot facility as part of a potential master plan and expansion, according to a letter submitted to the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission.
The company asked the commission to allow it to add more parking spaces, and the commission approved the request unanimously, with DRC Chair Melissa Rutland saying the project would be a great addition to the city.
Halkey-Roberts manufactures products for the medical, aerospace and defense industries at its site at 2700 Halkey-Roberts Place N., off of 28th Street North. The company currently has about 434 employees on site over three shifts, with the maximum potential employee count on site at any one time as high as 304 workers, according to a July 9 letter to the DRC from Alan King, vice president of operations.
The company projects about 20 percent employee growth within both its manufacturing/warehousing operations and its office/support operations as part of the potential master plan and expansion. However, many of the manufacturing employee counts will actually remain stable due to machine automation, King said.
Halkey-Roberts’ closest neighbor, Valpak, has not commented on the plan, city officials told the DRC.
A request to Halkey-Roberts for additional information was pending return.