APPLETON, WI – VPI, Inc. announced yesterday the sale of their 100,000-square foot Roemer Road production facility, located at 2730 N. Roemer Rd. Appleton, to a local mechanical contractor, August Winter & Sons, Inc., as the final step in streamlining their production operations into one facility. This process started with a 2023 purchase of 150,000 square feet of space on their existing Kensington property to take full control of that campus.
“While VPI has grown and evolved over the years, so has our real estate portfolio. At the end of 2022, we owned or leased nine properties. It was at that point that we established a strategic initiative to streamline our real estate holdings to align with our business needs – both now and into the future. We laid out a vision that included two core real estate hubs, one for production, and one for our many community programs, while maintaining our downtown Appleton Community Outreach Center. The sale of our Roemer production facility and consolidation to our Kensington campus gives us our production hub,” said Tim Riebau, VPI, Inc. president and CEO.
VPI now owns and operates a single 400,000-square foot production and warehouse facility in Appleton and will include the build out of additional IPA/clean room space to support their customers who have this specific need.
“The sale might seem like a contraction, but we are actually gaining 45,000 square feet of incremental space when it’s all said and done,” said Riebau.
“While the sale of our Roemer facility is an exciting move for VPI and our business overall, it was made even more special that we were able to sell the building to August Winter & Sons, Inc. Our two organizations have been stalwarts of the community for more than 60 years, and as luck would have it, they were looking to buy at the same time we were looking to sell,” Riebau added.
“Our main facility, which is located less than a quarter mile down the road from VPI’s Roemer Road facility, has been bursting at the seams for the last three plus years. Over that time, our leadership team reviewed many options for expansion, none of which felt quite right. After meeting Tim and walking through the facility, our entire leadership team knew this was the opportunity we had been waiting for. The size and location are perfect for us,” said Travis Glennon, August Winter & Sons, Inc. controller.
“Our current facility consists of 64,000 square feet between office, production and warehouse. Adding this 100,000 square foot facility fills all our immediate needs and provides room for growth for years to come. We will move our entire sheet metal production, which includes ductwork, tank and other custom fabrication, along with our tool room and shipping and receiving department, to the new facility. Our current shop space will be converted into 100 percent pipe fabrication,” said Travis.
VPI’s mission is to promote the dignity and worth of individuals who have disabilities or are disadvantaged and to assist them in developing their optimum level of social, vocational, and economic independence in the community.
VPI, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization provides a variety of community programs and services – including education, early intervention, employment, mental health, and social and recreational services, and packaging solutions to the Fox Cities and surrounding areas. By providing efficient contract packaging and production services to private industry with an integrated workforce, VPI has been able to deliver community programing and services to support the changing needs of community members with disabilities or disadvantages.
August Winter & Sons, Inc.’s mission is to be recognized as the best mechanical contractor as determined by customer satisfaction. We treat our customers and fellow employees in a manner in which we would like to be treated. We will maintain steady growth in our industry to ensure the long term future of the company.
For more information or interview inquiries, please contact:
Allie Lucht
Marketing & Development Manager
alucht@vpiwi.org
(920) 749-5859
