Manchester Enterprises sells 'spec' building to Wisconsin company

MANCHESTER -- Sixteen years after it was constructed by Manchester Enterprises to attract business to the community, a 30,000-square-foot "spec" building has been sold to a Wisconsin company.

LaBudde Group Inc., a Grafton, Wis., trading company primarily focused on the movement of physical commodities, will set up shop in the building located in the Manchester Industrial Park. The building was constructed in late 1996 by Manchester Enterprises in cooperation with the city of Manchester.

In addition to its trading operations, LaBudde has manufacturing facilities where it produces and bags its own ingredients. Many companies rely on LaBudde for commodities used to make pet food.

LaBudde, founded in the early 1900s in downtown Milwaukee, has facilities and personnel in 10 locations, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and California.

The practice of constructing spec buildings to attract industry has been used by a number of Eastern Iowa communities in the last couple of decades. Manchester was able to attract Magnaflux, a Chacago company that manufactured non-destructive test  equipment used in the automotive, aerospace and other industries.