Kilgore business undergoes major expansion

Morris Mitchael stands in front of Waukesha-Pearce Industries that will undergo major upgrades. Mitchael is the regional manager for the Ark-La-Tex region.

A 10,150-square-foot expansion project at Waukesha-Pearce's Kilgore facility will get under way in the next three weeks.

Morris Mitchael, regional manager for the company's Ark-La-Tex region, said the project is expected to be complete in six to eight months

“This is something we've been talking about for several years, and our owners have decided the time is right,” said Mitchael. The new structure on the north side of the company's property at 3106 Hwy. 42 will be a heated and cooled state-of-the-art engine and component rebuild facility. Key Building Systems of Longview is the contractor for the project.

“We also plan to renovate our existing service department by adding additional bays and overhead cranes. The additional facility along with the renovations will increase our current service capabilities by 50 percent and help us achieve our ultimate goal of a more efficient service operation,” said Mitchael. He expects the expansion to generate four to six new jobs, adding to the company's current employment of 50 in Kilgore.

Waukesha-Pearce has been at its current location since 1978, having moved from south Kilgore, where the company had located during the oil boom of the 1930s. In 1924, Louis Pearce began operations in Greggton as the local distributor of Waukesha engines.

Over the past 81 years, Waukesha-Pearce Industries, Inc., has remained a privately held, family-owned business and has grown to be the largest distributor of Waukesha engines in the world and one of largest Komatsu disturbers in the U.S. Today, the company has 17 branch locations in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma. and Mexico. The company is headquartered in Houston.

Total employment stands at approximately 575, said Mitchael.

Mitchael manages both the Kilgore facility, which services East Texas, and the Shreveport office, which services

northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas. Hel said sales from the Kilgore office alone are projected to be $24 million in 2005-2006.

“Kilgore is the largest combination branch in WPI outside Houston,” said Mitchael.

He said the company has diversified over the years and is now evenly divided between the original engine division, which supplies stationary engines and compressors for the oil and gas industry, and the construction machinery division, which distributes the Komatsu brand of equipment for the commercial construction and mining industries.

The customer base for both divisions is international as well as local. “We provide services to all major oil and gas operations and lignite mining operations in this area, WPI Kilgore over the years has even been involved in international sales which include equipment being sent to countries such as Russia, Turkey and various other Middle Eastern countries.

In addition to the current 26,000-square-foot building on Hwy.y 42, Waukesha-Pearce leases an adjacent building to the north, used as a truck terminal for distribution of Komatsu parts shipped daily from Tennessee.

“This is for our construction machinery division, and these parts are distributed from Kilgore to all of Waukesha-Pearce's CMD locations,” said Mitchael.

Mitchael, who has been with Waukesha-Pearce for 28 years and has been regional manager for the past two years, said the company's steady growth, as well as the more stable national economy, have provided the impetus for the current expansion in Kilgore.

“We have enjoyed being in Kilgore, and we have pumped a lot of money into the Kilgore economy. Our success however is our people, which continue to strive daily to make WPI Kilgore the leader in our industry,” he said. “ And with this current expansion, we hope this will give our people even more resources to continue to keep WPI a competitive and profitable company. Brick and mortar are nice, but our people are our greatest asset, and WPI Kilgore is positive about the contributions we will make to the Kilgore and East Texas economy for years to come.”

Gary Boyd, KEDC board president, said, “Although Waukesha-Pearce Industries did not seek assistance from Kilgore Economic Development Corporation for their upcoming expansion, we greatly appreciate their significant capital investment in Kilgore and wish them all the best in their endeavor. Kilgore's economy remains strong because of solid companies like Waukesha-Pearce that have been in Kilgore for many years.”