Wade Inc. has begun an expansion in Greenwood that will add about 10,000 square feet to the agricultural equipment dealership.
The additions, which will bring the total square footage up to 46,000, are designed to improve customer service and the work environment, said Matthew Hicks, general manager.
“This facility was built in 1961 and really hasn’t had any major renovations, per se, since then,” he said. “There’s been maintenance and that kind of thing and some upgrades but nothing major.”
Today’s farm equipment is larger than the equipment built in 1961, and Wade has outgrown its space, he said.
The work will be done in three phases, and the goal is to be finished this time next year, weather permitting. Robin Henry of The Johnson-McAdams Firm is the architect.
First, the service shop will be expanded to the west and linked to a new “picker shop,” which will have three bays that can accommodate current and future equipment.
Wade can service today’s larger cotton pickers, but they have to be worked on and stored outside. Many customers prefer to have their equipment kept in covered areas to protect it from the weather, Hicks said.
“We currently do not have a door big enough to pull a module cotton picker in,” he said.
The second phase will include renovations to the existing shop. These will include the addition of large doors along the south wall to allow for easier access for equipment. The south wall will also have a 20-foot-deep canopy the full length of the shop to provide weather protection for those doors and to provide an expanded exterior service area.
In the third phase, the interior offices and support areas will be renovated. Part of an existing warehouse building will be demolished to help expand the service yard to the south of the shop. A new equipment wash rack will be constructed, and the existing wash rack and paint building will be demolished.
Wade is enlarging its equipment yard to create more space for larger items, and gravel is being put down in what is now an open lot so that equipment can be parked there or moved through.
Inside, each of Wade’s three salesmen will get a new, updated office so they can meet with customers privately. They now have one area for one salesman and another open area for the other two.
“In 1961, that was probably a pretty common way of having a dealership set up,” Hicks said, “but now it makes more sense for a salesman to have a private office that he can meet with his customers in.”
A new office for the service manager and service clerk will put them in a better position to work with the parts staff so that there is better flow between the two departments, he said.
In another upgrade, a new restroom will double as the tornado shelter for the business.
Hicks said the planning for the expansion started more than a year ago, and construction has been going on for about a month.
He said they have made every effort to limit the effects of the construction on the day-to-day business. Wade’s busiest times are spring and fall, and it can’t afford to be down during those periods, he said.
“It won’t be flawless, but we’re hoping the disruption to business will be as minimal as possible,” he said.
Hicks, who is nearing his third anniversary there and has been general manager for most of that time, summed up the work this way: “All the stuff that we’re doing here, the main goal is just to better serve our customers.”
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
