Article Published by the SouthCoast Business Bulletin

Former Genzyme site sold to city manufacturer

By Beth Perdue
Posted Aug 23, 2013 at 10:51 AM Updated Aug 26, 2013 at 1:42 PM
FALL RIVER — A city textile company has bought a vacant building in the Fall River Industrial Park and will move its manufacturing operation there this fall.

Klear Vu Corporation, a maker of chair pads, rocking chair cushions, and other seat covers, purchased the former Genzyme building at 600 Airport Road in the city at the end of July. The purchase price was $1.75 million.
Formerly located on Alden Road in the city, Klear Vu plans to move its corporate headquarters and operations to the new plant, hopefully by November, according to Vice President of Sales & Marketing Erin Brinskele.
First it will make some interior renovations to the building, she said.
The building will allow the company to improve its capacity, according to Klear Vu President Bob Cooper.
“As manufacturers, we need to be nimble to stay successful,” Cooper said in a release. “Flexibility will enable us to better serve our customers. Our new factory offers efficiencies that will streamline our manufacturing and prepare Klear Vu for the future.”
Klear Vu moved from Brooklyn, N.Y. to the Flint section of Fall River in 1964. At its start, the company made garment bags with clear covers. The product was the reason behind Klear Vu’s name, Brinskele said.
While the purchased 168,700 square-foot single-story building is nearly the same size as Klear Vu’s current site, Brinskele said the facility offers more efficient use of space.
“We love the fact that it’s all on one floor especially in one area where the cubic height is really helpful to us and we’ll be able to store things,” said Brinskele. “That was appealing to us.”
The building also offers a good balance of manufacturing, warehouse, and office space, she said. While the move represents growth for the company, Brinskele called it cautious growth.

“We are growing. It’s a tricky retail environment right now,” she said. “We’re hoping it continues.”
Klear Vu employs about 100 people and expects to add jobs as capacity increases, Brinskele said. The company wanted to stay in the city to ensure staff could easily commute to the new site, she said.
“The sale of this property at the entrance to the Fall River Industrial Park to a local successful manufacturer is a win for the city, the industrial park, and local employment numbers,” said Kelley Collins, of Collins Commercial Real Estate in Fall River, who represented Klear Vu in the sale. “Owner Bob Cooper has prevailed under difficult economic conditions and continues to push his company forward.”
Collins will be the company’s agent for leasing 41,216 square-feet of office space in the Airport Road building to one or two tenants, she said.
Broker for the seller was Cassidy Turley of Boston. “The building was a highly specialized facility for Genzyme that became excess real estate over time and Cassidy Turley was engaged to sell the asset,” said Connor Barnes, Cassidy Turley associate in an email. “The building is well located and was meticulously maintained by Genzyme, even after they vacated it.”
Situated on 13.45 acres, the Airport Road facility was built in 1978. Additional warehouse space was added in 1988 during a building upgrade.