International manufacturer leases 199,000-sq.-ft. building near Bradley Airport

International manufacturing company Aalberts Surface Technologies has signed a lease to occupy 199,000 square feet in a Windsor Locks building.

The deal was announced this week by SL Industrial Partners, an arm of New Jersey-based real estate investment and development firm Silverman Group.

In 2021, Silverman Group paid $1.9 million for a 40-acre property on both sides of Hamilton Road, near Bradley International Airport, from aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand Corp.

The property came with a 199,000-square-foot, two-floor laboratory and office building at 1 Hamilton Road. SL Industrial is converting this into light manufacturing space for Aalberts, which makes heat and surface treatments for components for numerous industries including aerospace, automotive, chemical, medical and others.

The company is expected to occupy the space in the first quarter of next year.

Aalberts has signed a 10-year lease with options to extend, said Toby Nelson, Silverman’s vice president of leasing. He said manufacturing equipment is being moved into the building.

Aalberts Surface Technologies said the Windsor Locks location will support the company’s “continued expansion” into the region and enhance its ability to serve the aerospace, power generation, automotive and medical sectors.

Its products and services include surface treatments to modify the surface of a material, polymer coatings, metal heat treatments, among others.

The company, according to one of its recent press releases, has five divisions on three continents. It is part of Aalberts N.V., which has 132 locations worldwide and more than 14,000 employees.

“We are thrilled to partner with SL Industrial Partners in securing the Bradley Airport Logistics Center East for our next phase of growth,” said Steve Wyatt, president of Aalberts Surface Technologies. “The site’s strategic location makes it an ideal choice for our expanding operations in north central Connecticut. We’re confident that this expansion will further enhance our capabilities and allow us to continue providing innovative solutions to our customers.”

Silverman Group is also building on speculation a 250,240-square-foot logistics facility across the street from the former Sundstrand building. That project, located on a former parking lot, is on track to wrap up in the second quarter of next year.

Nelson said there has been strong interest from potential tenants.

Shawn McMahon, managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle, is marketing Silverman’s speculative logistics building. After completion, it will be the only available Class A logistics building in its size in the north-of-Hartford market, he noted.

Luzern Associates completed a 170,000-square-foot logistics center at 425 Day Hill Road, in Windsor, earlier this year, but McMahon expects that to shortly confirm a tenant.

“We will be the only available space in the market come the first quarter of 2025,” McMahon said.

SL Industrial Partners oversees leasing and management of 26 million square feet of industrial space across 21 states, with 15 million additional square feet of new construction underway in nine states.