JR Automation, a Holland-based company and part of the Hitachi Group, officially broke ground Wednesday morning on its new global headquarters on Riley Street in Zeeland.
Construction will soon begin on the $73 million project, which will be around 250,000 square feet, according to JR Automation CEO Dave DeGraaf.
The headquarters will consolidate employees from three existing facilities into the new building.
“The goal is to bring additional jobs in with the location coming a little bit further east opens up our recruiting area to further into Grand Rapids,” DeGraaf said.
Several entities were involved to make the project happen.
“Working collaboratively with the state of Michigan and also locally with Lakeshore Advantage, and also Holland and also with Zeeland,” DeGraaf said.
The facility aims to reach carbon neutrality and zero landfill waste by 2030.
“We’re going to bring a lot of technology to make sure that our environmental impact is minimized," DeGraaf said.
The site will feature a natural campus with pedestrian and bike paths interwoven into prairie grass landscaping. Amenities will even include a workout facility for employees.
“Our teams do a lot of hard work, so we want to make sure that they’ve got a great environment to do that hard work,” DeGraaf added.
The groundbreaking ceremony included the family of Ken Assink, founder of JR Automation.
“I can’t help but think, if Ken were still here when he started the company. Would he have ever envisioned it growing to something like this? So that’s exciting,” said DeGraaf.
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