(Photo courtesy of Alligned Commercial)
Fast-Growing Manufacturing Company Adds 27,000 sq. ft. to Local Presence
BaseX Solutions — one of the most successful ventures in Central Oregon’s recent history — has expanded its footprint across the High Desert to Sisters as part of the latest move in its upward trajectory. The company is internationally acclaimed for the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom, energy-efficient cooling solutions for the rapidly growing hyperscale data center field.
BasX also designs and manufactures custom solutions for cleanroom environments for the bio-pharmaceutical, semiconductor, medical and agriculture markets, as well as custom, energy-efficient air handlers and modular solutions for a vast array of markets. Since its inception in 2013 by co-founders Dave Benson and Matt Tobolski, and their taking over the former Walmart building on the south end of Redmond in 2014, the company has experienced stratospheric growth to the point that it now employs around 525 people under 200,000 sq. ft. at the continually spreading manufacturing facility headquarters.
The company has consistently been ranked one of the U.S.’ fastest-growing manufacturers and recognized as a leader in the development of industry-changing innovation. In the latest chapter in its evolution, it has leased over 27,000 sq. ft. in a state-of-the-art light industrial/flex space sited on 2.5 acres in the burgeoning Three Peaks Industrial Park off Barclay Drive in Sisters, with the expansion set to create another 30 living wage jobs.
The 15.59-acre park on former Forest Service Land is zoned Light Industrial (LI) which allows for light manufacturing, research, transportation facilities, indoor recreation, and other uses that are considered “clean” industries, with design standards producing modern industry-compatible buildings and a diverse mixed-use neighborhood. Of the 14 lots total, three have been developed, a fourth is under construction and a fifth is in planning.
The building is owned by HVAC company Roth Home, which occupies one-sixth of the building. BaseX has taken the remaining five bays to assemble critical field modular surgical suites.
Benson is a resident of Sisters and has 35 years of experience in the HVAC industry as the HVAC design engineer and operations manager at Intel, the past president and founder of Cleanpak, and the president and founder of Portland-based Huntair. He has pioneered the development and manufacturing of products shaping today’s industry standard of air-handling technology and efficiency. Benson said the move to add facility space in Sisters came as a result of there not being buildings of adequate size to meet their expansion needs
in Redmond.
EDCO Sisters Country Director Eric Strobel said the lack of inventory in other Central Oregon areas was playing into the hands of the Sisters’ community’s larger site light industrial development potential. “To some extent, it is a question of build it and they will come,” he added. “We are very excited to have BaseX as part of the business community and it is great for us to have buildings potentially available for expanding top-quality companies like this as well as equally quality smaller entities. And we currently have four more light industrial buildings going through the planning process which bodes well for the future.
“This was a successful collaboration between EDCO, the City of Sisters, Deschutes County and real estate broker Ken Streater, who all played a part. “The building was available for a while but proves we can attract larger users. We also have the former Laird building in the larger category available, at 25,000 sq. ft.”
The transaction was handled by Streater, owner of Central Oregon-based Aligned Commercial, who represented both tenant and building owner Roth Heating — which will retain 12,000 sq. ft. while BaseX occupies the balance of the space. “This building ticked a lot of boxes for BaseX in being the quality and size that fit their needs, with attractive features like 30 ft ceiling height for their large assembly needs and adequate overhead door clearance,” he said. “It is also a testament to the company and its perceived role in the community that they could have taken an alternative space but felt their industrial and trucking activity may have been more disruptive to nearby residential neighbors. This is a very high-quality company occupying a high-quality facility, so it was really a win-win scenario.”
In 2021, BasX Solutions was acquired by new owners, AAON of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which expressed a commitment to continue growing the company in Central Oregon. AAON acquired the fast-growing data center cooling, HVAC, and clean room systems maker for up to $202 million, including purchase of its property
and buildings.
At the time Matt Tobolski, PhD, president and co-founder of BasX, stated, “Since our inception, the BasX team has focused on delivering value-added solutions by engineering and building industry-leading custom products that meet the most stringent demands in the data center, cleanroom, and commercial markets. The creativity, collaboration, and execution of projects by our team will be strengthened as we enter this new chapter with AAON. BasX and AAON are extremely well aligned from company cultures, engineering expertise, manufacturing efficiency and the steadfast commitment to delivering on promises to our customers.”
