By Laura Beth Saaman, V/T Commercial student intern
Hank Slauson began his company, Flex-A-Seal, in 1983 in Florida, prior to moving the company to Vermont in 1984. Flex-A-Seal manufactures high quality mechanical seals for industrial pumps. As the business has grown, its 35,000 square foot Essex Junction facility has become inefficient and cramped.
Hank worked with the team from V/T Commercial to move the business operations to a new facility in Williston, which will almost double their space. For its 130 employees, Flex-A- Seal needs space for its office operations, but also for manufacturing, servicing and shipping its products. Finding a facility with enough space for its operations and enough parking for its employees has been a challenge. However, Hank has found the V/T Commercial team, especially Bill Kiendl, to be immensely helpful in the process.
“Bill and the V/T Commercial team have worked with us to get through all the issues and problems we have faced when looking at the our various options. They have been very helpful in all of the ramifications of putting a deal together.”
Hank also found the expertise the V/T Commercial team brought to the process to be valuable. He described the many frustrations that can come from making a deal and how the V/T Commercial team was able to support him as they walked through the process together.
“The V/T Commercial Team deals with purchase and sales agreements for the commercial real estate market on a day-to-day basis. It’s not my business, so it is foreign to me. There’s a myriad of challenges involved when looking at spaces and trying to visualize how we are going to put our facility in there. It has been helpful for me to have somebody who has been through it, can help you figure out where the minefields are and maneuver around them.”
Finding Flex A Seal’s new facility may have been a difficult and challenging process, but Hank is very pleased with the outcome. His team is moving into a new location that has everything they need for the company to continue to grow. When asked if he would recommend V/T Commercial, this was his response.
“I would absolutely refer them to V/T Commercial. They are honest, well known, hard working, well connected, and people you can deal with. I would recommend them because you really need to have someone help you through the process when putting a deal of this size together. They offer advice that helps with all aspects of the deal from the property itself to the finances– all while dealing with the multiple personalities that are involved in the process. Very simply, I would recommend V/T Commercial to anyone who is thinking of buying or selling commercial real estate in the state of Vermont. They are a class outfit. I have no complaints at all.”
Hank Slauson
