REP Corp. moving HQ from Bartlett to Tennessee

Rubber molding machinery manufacturer REP Corp. announced Wednesday it is moving its corporate headquarters from Bartlett to Tennessee.

The company said it is building a new headquarters in Kodak, Tennessee, about 20 miles east of Knoxville. Company President Tim Graham said the new facility will also conduct sales, service, engineering and machine demonstrations, as well be a parts warehouse for REP's North America customers. Plans also include employing 20 people for administration, engineering, sales and field service.

Graham said the new facility will be open in early 2019. The Bartlett facility at 8N470 Tameling Court will remain a part of the company as a sales and service office, he added.

Company officials said in a release that REP had been looking for a location that was more focused on the migration of the rubber industry to the Southern U.S. region. Aftersales Director Jim Wirtz said the efforts of Sevier County, Tennessee, officials and the local economic development council played a role in the relocation to Kodiak.

"This move represents an opportunity to support our transplanted existing customers who have followed the auto industry to the South, plus the newly emerging markets here," said National Sales Director Derek Williams,

REP Technical Director Josh Beachum said the region's talent pool also played a role in the move.

"One of the strong factors in our decision was the talent pool of young engineers in this area, combined with the technical training options available to us," Beachum said. "The rubber molding business has a unique set of chemistries and manufacturing technologies that require ongoing training and mastery."

"We've received a very enthusiastic welcome from the local business community here, making this decision to relocate from our longtime Chicago headquarters an easier move," Graham said.

REP joins a growing list of suburban-based companies that have moved operations in the past several years, either to the city of Chicago in hopes of drawing young urban talent, or out of state seeking a more business-friendly environment. Among the companies that have moved out-of-state are lighting equipment maker Kenall Manufacturing, which left Gurnee for Kenosha, Wisconsin; packing materials company Uline Corp. which left Waukegan for Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin; and Hoist Liftruck, which moved from Bedford Park to East Chicago, Indiana.