A growing North American division of a company with facilities throughout the world plans to occupy warehouse space in Brunswick County.

Kessebohmer USA Inc. signed a lease for an undisclosed amount for 60,000 square feet in the former DAK Americas warehouse at 2975 Andrew Jackson Highway in Leland, said Hill Rogers, broker-in-charge with Cameron Management, in a news release this week. 

The North American sales division of Germany-based Kessebohmer has been headquartered in Wilmington since 2007, and establishing a distribution center in the Wilmington area has long been a goal, said David Ivey, managing director of Kessebohmer USA Inc.

Kessebohmer USA Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-end storage solutions for the kitchen industry, Ivey said. Other Kessebohmer divisions oversee the manufacture and sale of bathroom, bedroom and commercial furnishings and equipment, among other products, worldwide. 

“We have been silently canvassing industrial properties for over two years and really decided to make this a reality within the last 12 months,” Ivey said in the release. “With this new location, we will close and relocate our facility from New Jersey and service our domestic customers from this new warehouse.”

Ivey said the company had started searching for the warehouse space in New Hanover County but ultimately chose the Brunswick location on U.S. 74 because it was the right size and price, with the additional option of being able to expand there in the future. He said its proximity to the Port of Wilmington is another advantage because the company regularly brings containers in from facilities in Germany and Asia.

“We’ve been operating here in the U.S. since 1973, and our growth keeps warranting our expansion,” Ivey said. “We’ve always used other distributors, but now we are taking more control of the market and expanding our distribution capabilities and hiring people all over the country.”

Ivey said he expects the Leland distribution site to be in operation by the first quarter of next year after some upfitting. The industrial warehouse is owned by LBP Leland LLC, an affiliate of Lord Baltimore Properties, developer of the master planned community Brunswick Forest on U.S. 17 in Leland.

“Lord Baltimore is a world class developer and landlord, and it was a real pleasure to work with them on this transaction,” Rogers said in the release.

Will Leonard, vice president of brokerage at Cape Fear Commercial, represented LBP Leland in the transaction.

“The warehouse is a tremendous facility consisting of over 500,000 square feet of class-A industrial space. This location is outstanding, and the forthcoming opening of the new 17 bypass will further enhance this property’s positioning in the industrial marketplace," Leonard said. "We are very excited to have Kessebohmer as a tenant.”