Above: Advanced Drainage Systems in Fairmont is about to undergo a large expansion project. From left: Plant accountant, Sommer Goerndt, plant manager, Jeff Lueth and upcoming plant manager, Josh Stangler.

FAIRMONT– One Fairmont business is about to expand its footprint. Advanced Drainage Systems’s $15 million project will include an additional 14 acres of land and add 30,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and 20 jobs over the next five years.

ADS is a leading global manufacturer of water management products and solutions for commercial, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications. It currently has a 39,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Fairmont’s industrial park and employs 75 people from Martin County and beyond.

Jeff Lueth has been with the company for about 34 years and has most recently served as plant manager. He shared that, locally, the business was first known as Hancor and started operating in 1978.

Earlier this week, the Fairmont City Council approved a nine year TIF for the project, following recommendation from the Fairmont Economic Development Authority Board. Linsey Preuss, Fairmont’s Economic Development Coordinator, shared that she’s been working with ADS on the project for the past two years.

Lueth said they started working on the design of the building around the fall of 2019. They had a rough plan started and then Covid hit.

“Everything kind of went silent. There was a lot of uncertainty with where everything was heading,” Lueth said.

He said while they were expecting things to downturn, it actually went the opposite direction. The demand stayed strong and ADS was able to keep its plants running throughout the pandemic.

“The demand continued to get stronger and stronger which put us in a situation where we couldn’t take care of our orders– the demand was so overwhelming. That’s what brought it back into the forefront that we needed to get started on the project again,” Lueth said.

He said now that the project’s approved, they’re starting to look at the timeline and hope to break ground in May and have the building enclosed around Thanksgiving.

“The production equipment will be coming in and we’ll be installing that through the early part of winter. Tentatively, it will be completed by spring of next year,” Lueth said.

Sommer Goerndt, plant accountant, said the building will be staying on the existing property and that the land they’re acquiring, which is between Avery Weigh-Tronix and Kahler Automation, will be mostly used for yard capacity, raw material storage and parking.

Lueth said they’ll be adding about 30,000 sq. ft. onto their existing building. The space will allow for additional offices, a new conference room, employee break room and restrooms.

Lueth shared that he grew up near Truman on a family farm and has known a lot of farmers across the course of his life.

“I remember a lot of people telling me in the early years that I’d only have a job for a few years, that everything was drained and tile won’t be needed anymore. We were a small plant then but every year we’ve continued to grow,” Lueth said.

And grow they have. Lueth said they’ve set shipping records and manufacturing records and that the demand for their products has been increasing across the country and the rest of North America.

ADS is also the second largest plastic recycler in North America.

The expansion isn’t the only thing new coming to ADS. Lueth will be transitioning into an agricultural manufacturing manager role and Josh Stangler will be taking over as plant manager.

Stangler said, “We have a great team here. We have many employees who have multiple years, 10 plus years of service here. They help make this team what it is.”

ADS’s executive vice president of marketing and product manager, Brian King, said, “the number of production lines will be doubled, the number of employees increased and the total facility footprint will be expanded. This is to continue to meet the growing demand for all ADS products in the region.”

Not only will the project help ADS reach its goals, but help the city of Fairmont reach some of its own.

“Through projects like ADS, we are moving toward Fairmont’s vision of a thriving community,” Preuss said.