A longtime local industrial firm revealed plans for expansion Thursday at an industry tour event in Cullman.

Inland Building Systems, a maker of metal buildings and related support structures, announced plans for a 10,500 square foot expansion to its headquarters and production facility in south Cullman, a move that is expected to add 25 new jobs to the company’s current workforce of 170 people.

The announcement was made at a Thursday morning industry tour of the facilities at injection molding manufacturer Royal Technologies. Partnering with the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Inland Building Systems sponsored the Royal tour, and made use of the occasion to announce its expansion plans.

Inland President Ron Ambrosius said construction work on the project should begin in late spring or early summer. Ambrosius declined to provide information on the project’s expected cost.

The expansion at Inland, said Ambrosius, comes as the company continues to enjoy more robust demand for its products, even as it anticipates continued growth in the domestic manufacturing economy.

“The market [for our products] is solid, and I still think we haven’t felt the full, and beneficial, impact of what [President Donald] Trump is going to do in the business world,” said Ambrosius. “We collectively feel that it’s going to improve the business climate; not just for us, but a lot of industries that utilize our product.

“For us, business is steadying, and we’re continuing to grow compared with last year’s numbers — or we wouldn’t be expanding.”

In addition to expanding Inland’s square footage, the project will also update the Cullman headquarters’ office facilities. Overall, the completed expansion will allow Inland to scale its current operation to meet an expanding customer base for the custom-engineered and fabricated industrial metal buildings it supplies.

“It is going to allow us to house more equipment that will allow us to produce more product,” explained Ambrosius. “It’s not an expansion into new fields beyond what we currently do; rather, it’s an expansion that allows us to do more, and to produce more, of what we already provide.”

The current Inland plant was built in the 1970s. Inland Building Systems was acquired by Texas-based Schulte Building Systems in 2008. Like Inland, Schulte also designs and manufactures industrial-scale metal buildings.

25

Number of jobs Inland Building Systems is adding.

170

Total number of employees after expansion.

10,500

Additional square footage to its headquarters and production facility.