Expansion has always been in the plans for
Working Bugs, the green chemical manufacturer in
East Lansing; but that doesn’t make adding a 45,000 square foot production facility to the formerly 4,000 square foot operation any less exciting.
“We were in the development phase,” says Working Bugs owner Dianne Holman, “but we knew in order to be profitable we’d have to have a production facility that was much larger. We make chemicals, and you have to make over a certain volume to be viable.”
Holman and her team purchased the former City of East Lansing Public Works building off of Haslett Road last June. As a location where vehicles were serviced for many years, the property has been under significant environmental cleanup and renovation since that time. Working Bugs partnered with the city on the clean up effort.
“We still have some things to do,” says Holman, “mostly outside the building. Our plans are to remove some of the asphalt and really green it up. Our whole approach at the site is to be more environmentally friendly.”
Working Bugs is now in the process of transferring production to the renovated location as new, larger production equipment arrives. The original Chandler Road office will be retained, and will continue to house the research and development operations of the business.
Working Bugs currently employs a staff of eight. Holman says up to two more may be hired by the end of 2012.
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