Headquarters, manufacturing facility to increase production, staff
What began as a weekend hobby in his garage has transformed into a 20,000 square-foot headquarters for company President Gil Blais and La Boit, Inc., a manufacturer of mobile clinics and units for the veterinary/animal, dental/medical and law enforcement industries.
The 24-year-old company recently opened its new office and manufacturing plant at 700 Cross Pointe Road in Gahanna, located near Port Columbus International Airport. “While previously we operated out of a facility south of the airport, the new building provides more height, which we needed for our larger vehicles. It just has more efficient layout for office and production space,” Blais said. “We were very tight in regards to vertical space because we mount the roofs of our vehicles with a hoist; we went from 14 feet of clear space to 18 feet. The artificial lighting is far superior, and a lot more efficient, as well as is the heating and cooling than in the former site.”
La Boit’s new facility will increase the company’s numbers for both production and associates. “We anticipate putting on a second shift, as we’re expecting to double and triple our production at this new site,” Blais said. “Right now we’re at about 28 employees as far as our office and production employees, so increasing our staff is without question; it’s just a matter of time.” The company currently produces about 4.5 units a month but the new facility will enable La Boit to increase production to six units a month by late summer, with an eventual goal of 10 units per month. “This new facility will help us with that.”
The company’s sales staff will continue to work out of its Phoenix location.
La Boit’s headquarters and manufacturing facility was designed and constructed by Dublin Building Systems (DBS). DBS is a design/build construction firm providing single-source comprehensive building services, including site location, facility design, construction, budgeting and project management. Headquartered in Dublin, DBS is the local authorized builder for Varco-Pruden (VP) Buildings, the nation’s leading manufacturer of pre-engineered building systems.