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Officials from Nu Way Companies participated in a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning for a 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility in Troy.

Nu Way Companies held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday morning for a 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility in Troy.

This is an architect’s rendering of a new 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility that Nu Way Companies is building in Troy. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Wednesday morning.

This is a drone photo from the groundbreaking ceremony that Nu Way Companies held on Wednesday morning for a 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility in Troy.

Nu Way Companies held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday morning for a 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility in Troy.

Nu Way Companies held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday morning for a 35,000-square-foot rebar fabrication facility in Troy.

For Nu Way Companies, continued growth in the rebar market also meant a perfect time for expansion.

Record demand for reinforcing steel known widely as rebar is prompting Nu Way, one of the largest construction material and equipment suppliers in Metro St. Louis, to build a 35,000-square-foot fabrication facility at 2454 Formosa Road in Troy.

Groundbreaking was held on Wednesday morning for the facility, which is being built by Contegra Construction.

“This is a big step for the company and I want to thank our employees and management for getting us to this point,” said Greg Rhomberg, president and COO of NU Way. “We’ve been at this location (in Troy) now for 15 years and we’ve seen tremendous growth in central and southern Illinois, and the demand for rebar has escalated.

“We have some tremendous talent here and that’s why we chose this location because we have five other locations that we own property at. We’re right in the I-270 and I-55/70 corridor. It makes perfect sense to build the facility here.”

NuWay FAB, a newly formed division, will occupy the new facility, which will feature three overhead cranes. It will more than quadruple Nu Way’s rebar production tonnage which this year is at a record 3,100 tons and counting.

The state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to be completed in May of 2023 and should be producing steel by June.

“E-commerce-driven warehouse construction coupled with a surge in infrastructure spending has created soaring demand for rebar, a critical element for tilt-up and road construction,” Rhomberg said. “On top of that healthcare, schools and other concrete projects are also driving demand for reinforcing rebar.” 

Rhomberg, the third-generation leader of the company, anticipates increasing production to 15,000 tons of rebar annually for the Troy location when the new fabrication facility is complete.

“This project has been in development for about a year, and our rebar fabrication manager, Dan Springer, traveled the country and visited four other major fabricators of rebar,” Rhomberg said. “Since we’re building a new building from the ground up, we were able to pick all of the latest technology and bring it all in under one roof.”

Springer, meanwhile, is equally excited about the new facility.

“The market for rebar has been very active and very strong and we expect it to stay that way,” Springer said. “We’re looking to expand into new areas where there are some openings.”

Rhomberg said that Nu Way has recently supplied rebar for a number of notable projects including the new MLS stadium in downtown St. Louis, Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery in Roxana, the Springfield Public School District in Springfield, Illinois, and numerous expansions for the region’s largest businesses including AB-InBev and BJC Healthcare. 

The fabrication facility will customize rebar supplied by steel mills for all types of construction needs. The building will feature a 31,000-square-foot fabrication shop and 4,000 square feet of office space. The office space will feature a conference room for presentations to customers and continuing education for employees. The facility will also have two lunchrooms.

In addition to boosting the local economy and increasing efficiency, Springer said the new facility and the NU Way FAB division will help to centralize the company’s rebar production.

“We’ll probably employ a total of 14 employees and there may be some future growth,” Springer said. “We should be able to put out a lot more material with the same crew based on more productive equipment.

“Right now, the work is done at some branches and smaller areas, but this is going to be the main facility that does the fabrication. We’ll do the big work, and the independent stores will still do the smaller jobs.”

Like Rhomberg, Springer sees the new facility as a major step forward for Nu Way.

“The company has done bigger expansions, but they have all been retail operations,” Springer said. “As far as a singular product line, this is probably the biggest that they have done. The stores are bigger, but they carry a multitude of products.”

The building will be constructed of tilt-up concrete panels and topped with a TPO roof hosting three rooftop industrial HVAC units. The 21-foot clear height fabrication area will have three bays and will be able to process rebar on 3.5-ton coils and straight lengths up to 60 feet long.  Each bay will be served by an overhead crane, including a 16-ton magnetic crane, a 10-ton crane and a five-ton crane. The facility will also have five drive-in doors.

Rhomberg noted that the completion date for the facility would have been sooner if not for supply chain shortages.

“That was primarily electrical gear and roofing materials, which is delaying the project,” Rhomberg said. “But we can do the concrete work and the walls, and they’ll lay on the ground until the structural steel is available. At that time, it will all start tilting up in January.”

Joining Contegra on the project are J.F. Electric, Vee-Jay Cement Contracting, Illinois Electric Works and Affton Fabricating and Welding Company.

Jared Lengermann is the project manager for Contegra.

“This is a new fabrication facility for Nu Way as they expand their retail business and we’ve been working with them for the past year getting to this point,” Lengermann said. “We’re excited to finally be breaking ground on it.

“It will be a state-of-the-art facility with three cranes in it and they’ll be moving their rebar operation from outside to inside. It will be a conditioned environment to provide more capacity and more specialized rebar. With all of the tilt-up construction going on, now is the time to get into that market.”

Founded in 1955 by brothers Adolph Rhomberg and Arthur Rhomberg, Sr., Nu Way Concrete Forms has grown to become one of the region’s largest construction suppliers, manufacturing, selling, and renting concrete forms, equipment, and accessories. 

Headquartered in south St. Louis County, Nu Way also has facilities in Jefferson City, Jackson, and Wentzville, Missouri and Troy, Illinois, serving all of southern and central Missouri and southwestern and central Illinois. It employs more than 200 people. Learn more at www.nuwayinc.com.

Based in Edwardsville, Contegra is one of the St. Louis area’s largest general contractors and serves a national customer base that includes industrial, institutional, municipal, multi-family, office and retail projects. Its capabilities include building developer- and owner-driven projects and site development. Learn more at www.contegracc.com.

Scott Marion is a feature reporter for the Intelligencer. A longtime sportswriter, he has worked for the Intelligencer since December 2013. He is a graduate of Brentwood High School and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.