Crawford Company was given the green light Monday, Oct. 27, to build a 20,000-square-foot building on eight acres in west Rock Island, including what was once the site of the Rock Island Livestock Auction Barn.
At its regular meeting, the Rock Island City Council unanimously approved a development agreement for the proposed project with River Tracks LLC. The company, which purchased the project site, is a real estate and development company. It is co-owned by Crawford executives Ian Frink, Jim Maynard and Troy Green.
The future expansion site includes the former auction barn property. That includes the 6.5-acre parcel at 504 34th Ave., and an adjacent 1.5 acres at 3511 8th St. The latter was formerly Bi-State Masonry. The two parcels were purchased for a total of $650,000, Mr. Frink said in an email this morning, Oct. 28.
With the development agreement finalized Monday, he said the next steps would be to complete site demolition and cleanup. Then construction will begin on the new metal machine shop. The new facility will create additional space for metal cutting, fabricating, assembly and painting of large-scale machinery by Crawford Company and its family of brands. Owned by Mr. Frink and Mr. Maynard, Crawford Company also operates Monoxivent, Seaberg Industries and a Brew Equipment Division.
$3.7M investment
In all, Mr. Frink said the latest project is a $3.7 million investment. The actual building represents about one-third of that cost.
The former auction barn, which closed its doors in January 2015, was destroyed in an arson fire in February 2024. The second parcel had been the home of Bi-State Masonry. It relocated to East Moline.
Crawford’s new building is expected to be completed in a year. It will create 20 new jobs over the next two years, the development agreement said. In a news release last week, the City of Rock Island said the project would also retain 10 existing jobs.
“Crawford has experienced significant growth in volume and we have been fortunate to add key personnel to support our growth,” Mr. Frink said in the city release. “With growth, the company has experienced challenges with more production and office space.”
“This project will allow us to be more efficient within our Fabrication Division and better serve our customers,” he added. “After this phase, our next focus will be an office expansion in 2026.”
He applauded the city for its “continued support over the years” of Crawford. That company has invested and redeveloped several industrial sites at and around its home office and manufacturing facilities at 1306 Mill St. in Sunset Business Park.
The council also approved a $300,000 reimbursement to the project on Monday night. Those funds will come from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
An ‘exciting development’
“The city is proud to be the home of Crawford Company, a long-time Rock Island company and one of the leading manufacturers in the Midwest,” Tom Flaherty, the city’s economic development director, said in the Friday, Oct. 24, release. “The company’s expansion is an exciting development. We are glad to see construction of a facility that will serve the greater community and add to the city’s tax base.”
When the 34th Avenue project is completed, Crawford will occupy a total of six buildings across west Rock Island. That building will house a small office along with the production space.
Crawford was founded in 1952 as an HVAC company by World War II Navy veteran Harvey Crawford. It is now under the leadership of Mr. Frink and Mr. Maynard (second generation owners). Crawford has seen explosive growth from its early beginnings as a small shop into a thriving corporation.
The company specializes in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, mechanical services, electrical, laser cutting, machining, welding, fabrication, brewing equipment and custom architectural products.
Crawford products and services are found within commercial, industrial, and residential markets. Crawford’s foundation was built in the residential heating and cooling market. Over time it has diversified into a number of other realms.
With the new Rock Island building, the company said it will relieve congestion and provide additional floor space for production, fabrication and assembly. That will better service its key accounts. Crawford’s footprint also has expanded into eastern Iowa, where it has operations in west Davenport, Dubuque (Crawford North) and now in Muscatine, where it first located in 2023. It also opened a new location in April 2024.
Its growth has been recognized for four consecutive years with Crawford named to the QCBJ’s list of Fastest Growing Companies (2022 to 2025).
