North Berwick’s Hussey Seating Co. is expanding its operations to Sanford. The business acquired a 45,000-square-foot warehouse on Community Drive as part of a multiyear, $8.2 million expansion project.

Hussey Seating, founded in 1853, is a family-owned business that specializes in developing and building seating for the sports, entertainment, education and worship markets. Its products range from fixed upholstered chairs to gym seating, such as bleachers. The company received a $2.8 million matching grant from the Maine Technology Institute last year for the expansion project.

Hussey had been increasingly renting space in the Sanford warehouse for the past 10 years, the company said in a news release. Gary Merrill, the president and CEO of Hussey Seating, said it made sense to buy the facility rather than continue to rent it. The company declined to reveal the cost of the warehouse.

Merrill said most of the manufacturing will still be based in North Berwick, but that the company needed space to grow.

He said the company is hoping to hire 50 employees during the multiyear project, but none will be hired in conjunction with the warehouse acquisition.

“Our markets are strong and demand for our products is high,” Merrill said. “So we need additional warehouse space, as well as room to accommodate the development and implementation of the new tools and processes we’re planning to upgrade our manufacturing capabilities.”

The company employs about 300 people. Its 2017 annual report noted the company had reached a $100 million revenue mark.

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