Durham Co. moves into big new space

One large business operation in Houston that’s in a class by itself with regard to success over the past several years is the Durham Co.

Located in two separate buildings off of Industrial Drive on the west side of town, the Lebanon-based firm’s Houston plant primarily makes metal electrical boxes. For the second time in about three years, keeping up with demand has resulted in a significant expansion of the plant’s space, in the form of a 30,000 square foot addition to the original south building.

“Last year was a record year,” said plant manager Richard Peterson, “and I really don’t know why this year won’t be a record over that.”

The big new space was built by Gentry Construction. Peterson said the plant’s assembly and shipping departments are being moved into it, and the transition should be complete within a few weeks.

“We’ll also be adding some new assembly lines in the area, and it will allow us to spread out more in the existing space,” Peterson said.

The Durham Co. completed a 16,000 square foot expansion in Houston in late 2014, and enlarged the facility’s office space early last year. The plant produces product every day, with day and night shifts on weekdays and a weekend shift. It’s not unusual for close to 10 semi-truckloads of product to be shipped out on a given day.

“I try to keep in tune with what’s going on through the sales reps for the trucking firms,” Peterson said. “They’ll tell us ‘it’s pretty slow everywhere else and you guys are just booming.’”

The Durham Co. began operation in Houston with six employees in 1994. There were 30 employees when Peterson took on the role of plant manager in May 1997, and there are now 230.

“I really feel proud of what we’ve done here,” Peterson said.

The phone number at the Durham Co. is 417-967-5400.