Light Manufacturing and Flex Industrial Buildings in Wyoming

A 15,500 square foot building can hold a real manufacturer. In Laramie, the city asked the Wyoming Business Council for a $2,935,924 Business Ready Community grant, recommended in November 2015, to build exactly that in the Laramie River Business Park for Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts. Light manufacturing in this state often starts small, on a prepared lot, with public money behind the first building and a private operator waiting to move in.

We build light manufacturing and flex industrial buildings: production bays, assembly rooms, machine shops, labs, warehouse space and front offices under one roof. The building has to do several jobs. It has to hold heavy equipment, take power and compressed air, keep a clean enough floor for the product and look presentable to a visiting customer.

Most owners do not know their final layout when the building is designed, so the structure has to be adaptable. We talk through what could change, such as a second shift, a new press, a larger crane or a different product, and we set clear heights, floor loads, utility capacity and door counts to match.

Design the Shell for the Next Tenant

Flex space is only flexible if the shell allows it. We size the clear height for the tallest equipment the owner can imagine, we run slab thickness and reinforcement to carry presses or CNC machines, and we leave room in the electrical service and gas supply for growth. Cheap choices at the beginning become expensive changes later.

We run design-build when the owner wants one party to manage it, and we work from the owner's drawings when an architect is already on board. Either way, we bring a pricing review at each design stage so the estimate tracks the plan. Owners who want to learn more about delivery options can read about our design-build process.

Heat is the other early decision. Production buildings in a cold climate burn a lot of fuel if the envelope is thin or the doors leak. We talk through insulation, door types, make-up air and whether the process throws off enough heat to help. A building that costs a little more to enclose usually costs much less to run through a Wyoming winter.

Buildings We Build in This Category

The category is broad. A flex light industrial building usually has a high bay for production or storage, a smaller office area and a few dock-high or grade-level doors. A machine shop or fabrication building needs a heavier slab and often a bridge crane. A lab-and-production building needs cleaner finishes and more mechanical capacity.

For multi-tenant buildings, we plan demising walls, separate utility meters and shared truck courts. For single-tenant buildings, we focus on the process flow from raw material to finished goods. If the owner expects to divide the space later, we place utilities and structural bays to make that possible. See also our page on small-bay contractor condos for a related ownership model.

Small Manufacturers Across the State

Wyoming manufacturing is spread out. In Riverton, Brunton, the maker of the Brunton compass, is the one employer the city's reference article names. In Lander, the named employers include Eagle Bronze, a bronze foundry, along with the National Outdoor Leadership School and Wyoming Catholic College. Small manufacturers in towns like Riverton and Lander depend on buildings that suit their process and can be maintained locally.

Cheyenne Business Parkway tenants include Eagle Claw, Truss-Craft and Magpul Industries among others. These businesses show the range of what flex space has to hold, from a fabrication floor to a distribution area. We use that range as a design check: if the building cannot handle a heavy fabrication floor and a clean assembly area, it is not truly flexible.

From Dirt to Occupancy

Our scope covers the whole job where the owner wants it. We clear and grade the site, set the utilities, build the foundations and slab, erect the structure, enclose it, rough in the mechanical and electrical, finish the interior and pave the truck court. We can also build only a portion, such as a shell with a ready-to-finish interior, when the tenant will do its own fit-out.

Floors get special attention. A manufacturing slab takes concentrated loads from machine feet and forklifts, so thickness, joints and finish matter. We place and cure concrete in the cold with enclosures and heat, and we saw joints on time. The metal building system is the usual structure, with a masonry or insulated panel front where the owner wants it.

Adjacent Work That Often Follows

Light manufacturing buildings often lead to additions. A second bay, a mezzanine, a loading dock, a wash-down area or a clean room can follow the first phase. We plan the first building so each of those can attach without tearing the original apart. Owners in advanced manufacturing in particular tend to add processes quickly.

Tenants who lease space often turn to industrial tenant improvements to adapt the building to their equipment. We can handle both the original shell and the later work, which keeps the building records and the crew knowledge together.

Tell us what you make and how it grows

Tell us what you make, what it weighs and how you expect to grow. We will draft a shell and site plan, price it and show how the building can change with you. Operators moving from a leased space can also compare notes with our Laramie market page.

Common Questions

How large should a flex building be for a small manufacturer?

The right size depends on the process, not a rule of thumb. A small precision shop can run in a few thousand square feet, while assembly and storage operations need more. The Laramie building mentioned above was 15,500 square feet. We recommend sizing for current needs plus a clear path to double, either with a built-in expansion wall or a lot large enough for an addition.

What floor and power should I plan for production equipment?

Tell us the heaviest machine, the largest forklift and the total electrical load, and we size the slab and service from there. Heavy presses may need isolated pads. Three-phase power, gas and compressed air all take lead time, so we check with the utility and the equipment vendor at the start.

Can grants or public funds be used for the building?

Some Wyoming communities use state and local programs to build speculative or incentive buildings. Public money adds requirements for procurement, reporting and schedule, so we recommend involving the contractor early. We can help the owner understand how those requirements affect bidding, change orders and closeout.

How do you keep a manufacturing floor flat and durable in a cold climate?

We plan the pour for temperatures that let the concrete cure, protect the slab from wind and freezing, install a sound base and place joints at the right spacing. Slab-on-grade work in winter calls for heated enclosures and curing blankets. A rushed or poorly protected pour gives cracks and curling that last for the life of the building.

What does it cost to run a flex building through a Wyoming winter?

Fuel and power are the main drivers, and they depend on the envelope, the door count and how much make-up air the process needs. We cannot quote a single number without the plan. We can show the effect of different insulation levels, door types and heating systems, so you see how a higher first cost can lower the yearly bill.