William Wrigley Jr. Company Planning Sticky Research At New R&D Center

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). William Wrigley Jr. Company (NYSE: WWY) (Chicago, Illinois) is planning to construct a new 373,000 square foot research and manufacturing center on Goose Island in Chicago.

The company has selected architectural firm HOK Architects (Chicago, Illinois) to design the "Wrigley Innovation Center" that will be used for manufacturing and product research and development plus provide additional office space for the gum manufacturer. Early drawings of the complex showed a 4-story building structure surrounded by parking spaces.

The new $14 million center will be situated on 7.6 acres on the north side of Goose Island within the North Branch of the Chicago River in the city's showcase industrial district.

Wrigley is currently negotiating contracts with four to five construction management/general contracting firms to construct the building that is expected to begin construction sometime during the first quarter of 2003.

Once completed in April of 2004, the company may shift some manufacturing activities of major brands like Wrigley's Spearmint, Juicy Fruit, and Big Red products to the new site from one of the company's oldest plants on South Ashland in Chicago. 200 additional jobs will be created as well.

The Wrigley Company is the world's largest manufacturer of chewing gum and home to some of the best-known brands in the world. Though publicly traded since 1923, the Wrigley family has led the company since William Wrigley Jr founded it in 1891. In all, four generations of Wrigley's have led the company, which has its global headquarters in the famous Wrigley Building in Chicago.