Former indoor waterpark renovated to make new headquarters for KSS

KSS Enterprises has taken what had been a building that once had five tenants, then abandoned, and turned it into its new headquarters. 

The 83,000-square-foot headquarters in Texas Township provides the room the company needs to accommodate the steady 7 to 8 percent annual growth it has been experiencing in recent years.

Tom Hill, owner of KSS Enterprises says that the company outgrew its previous location at 616 Vine Street and had been getting by with make-do solutions for about five years. The company also had expanded into different locations across the state, which relieved some of the pressure on the overcrowded downtown Kalamazoo building.

Even so, employees were split between different locations in Kalamazoo. A third shift had been added because there was not adequate space to send out products and receive shipments at the same time. 

After purchasing the property in Texas Township and undertaking an 11-month renovation project, the company is ready to bring its 56 Kalamazoo-based employees under one roof again and all will work on the day shift.

The new headquarters is home to KSS’ administrative and sales office, 45,000-square-foot storage facility, retail showroom, service department and two training facilities. The new location can accommodate more staff the company grows. 

"The evolution of our new headquarters parallels the growth of our company," says  Hill. "The build-out of our new space was intentional and it allows us room for future expansion."

KSS offers training for clients' staffers, teaching them the best ways to use the products KSS sells, which in turn reduces their overall cleaning costs. The new location has training facilities for 80 people and 20 people. 

“The expanded retail showroom and training facility provides an opportunity for our customers to experience and learn more about our products first-hand," Hills says. 

The KSS showroom is open to the public serving both commercial and residential customers. The company sells not only the cleaning products that were part of KSS's origins in 1945, but it has expanded into other related areas at its clients' requests. For example, today it also offers pool chemicals and products for commercial dishwashers and laundries. 

In addition to their Kalamazoo headquarters, KSS has showrooms and sales offices in Grand Rapids, Jackson, Petoskey and Plymouth, Michigan as well as South Bend, Ind. The Petoskey and Plymouth locations are also distribution centers. KSS currently has 88 employees across the entire company.

Source: Tom Hill, KSS Enterprises