Area businessman to buy former Vise-Grip factory

LINCOLN — A Fairbury, Neb., businessman is buying the former Vise-Grip factory in nearby DeWitt because he doesn't want it to be dismantled and sold for scrap.

Richard Allen, president and founder of Prairie View Industries, said Thursday that he has reached an agreement with Newell Rubbermaid Co. to purchase the building in DeWitt. He said he expects to take possession in early 2010.

Allen employs 80 people, including some former Vise-Grip workers, at his 135,000-square-foot factory in Fairbury. He said he doesn't plan to move his manufacturing business to DeWitt, which is 30 miles northeast of Fairbury.

Allen declined to say how much he offered for the building. He did say it was a “bargain” price but more than the $250,000 minimum bid that failed to get any takers at an earlier auction.

He hopes to find other manufacturing businesses to move into the building. Allen said talks with prospective tenants have begun, but it's too early to say who might be interested.

“We bought the building, but we have no immediate plans for it,” Allen said. “It was to the point that if nobody would buy it, scrappers would buy it and tear it down.

“It's too good an asset for that to happen.”

Newell Rubbermaid spokesman David Doolittle said no sales contract had been signed. He said he couldn't confirm whether a deal had been struck with Allen.

Newell Rubbermaid's attempt to sell the building failed for lack of a bidder earlier this month. The company has had discussions with multiple potential buyers since the auction, Doolittle said.

“We won't be able to announce an actual purchaser until a contract is signed,” he said.

Newell Rubbermaid closed the plant in October 2008 after deciding to move Vise-Grip manufacturing to China. Vise-Grips, a locking pliers, were invented by DeWitt blacksmith William Petersen, who founded the Vise-Grip factory in the 1930s.

An offer to purchase the plant by a startup tool company, Nail Jack Tools, fell through last spring because the company couldn't secure financing.

Allen, 69, a Nebraska native, founded Prairie View Industries in Prairie View, Kan., in 1991 and later moved it to Fairbury. The company manufactures more than 400 products, including folding wheelchair ramps, food service equipment, carts and shelving.

He said he moved the company to Fairbury to be closer to larger communities. A commitment to small-town Nebraska is one reason that he wants to buy the DeWitt building, Allen said.

“It was pretty devastating to the area to lose the Vise-Grip plant,” he said. “With the economy the way it is, it's hard to find a company to take on that big a building — it's a huge building. My thought was, ‘Why not buy it and see if we could subdivide it and get several industries in there?

Noting that the Vise-Grip factory once employed more than 600 people, Allen said he isn't worried about whether there's enough work force to support the plant.

If he can't find manufacturers to move into the plant, Allen said, he will rent it as warehouse space.

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402-473-9581, leslie.reed@owh.com