After beginning the process of moving his manufacturing business to Van Alstyne late last year, and having met with unforeseen obstacles in obtaining his Certificate of Occupancy at another location earlier this year, Forced Performance owner Robert Young said everything is now in place and he’s excited to be opening at the new location, 601 Martin Duke Road in Van Alstyne. Young said he plans to have the business completely up and running in January.
On Friday members of the Van Alstyne Economic Development Corporation met with Young to present him with an incentive check to be used for capital investment and job creation in Van Alstyne.
Forced Performance has been in McKinney since it’s beginnings in 1999. Young said that with the purchase of his 15,000 square foot building, he’ll be nearly tripling his usable workspace, which means, naturally, he can expand the business.
Forced Performance manufactures turbo chargers for sports cars, primarily those used for drag racing, Young said. The chargers range in units of power from 400 hp to 2,500 hp, and he has customers from countries around the world, he said.
Young commented on how happy he is with the ease of obtaining his Certificate of Occupancy and with the help that Van Alstyne EDC has given him.
“I am happy with the (city’s) website and for the improvements in completing the inspection,” he said. “There is a now a checklist on the website and that makes it easier to comply (with city requirements). My only desire is to comply. How happy I am about the way they (the city) have streamlined the process.”
That streamlined process, as Young described it, has happened since that City Council meeting where Young was denied the permission to move into his original location of choice. The guidelines, questionnaire, and application for a CO are on the city’s website, CityofVanAlstyne.us and under the “Business” portion of the website.
The building that will house Forced Performance was previously owned by Larry Nickell and, in the more recent past, has housed a fire engine repair shop and a U-Haul rental facility. Young smiled when he said that, since he’s owned the building, he’s had people drop off a couple of U-Haul trailers on the property, not realizing it is no longer used for that purpose. He purchased it knowing that it needs some repairs and upgrades, such as water leaks and vent problems.
“But mainly, it needs freshening up — I’ll paint the office space and add carpet and furniture,” he said.
It’s the additional space he’s the most excited about. Young said that he began searching about a year and a half ago, because “everything was stacking up vertical in the 6,500 square foot property” he’s been using since he established the building.
“There was just no more room there,” he said.
He began looking in both Anna and Van Alstyne, and commented that “Van Alstyne has been more friendly and more helpful. It’s been a great experience with EDC’s (Director) Jodi Carr, she’s knowledgeable and helpful, answering our questions and helping us get things done. Anna had offered us an incentive package to move there, but Van Alstyne matched that and seems excited about having us move here.”
Young lives in Weston, and his general manager Ryan Woodward, has moved to Van Alstyne.
“We like the small-town feel of Van Alstyne,” Young said.
Young and Woodward expect that most of their current staff will stick with the company, but as business increases, they will hire more people.
For more on this newest manufacturing business to Van Alstyne, visit forcedperformance.shop