Tool, video firm leases Louisville space

LOUISVILLE – Stuart Batty Woodturning leased a new 32,000-square-foot space at the Colorado Technology Center.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the lease. The space is at 1797 Boxelder St. in Louisville. The company specializes in making woodturning tools and woodturning educational videos. It previously was located at Flatiron Park in Boulder, said owner Stuart Batty.

“This building is more set up for manufacturing,” Batty said. “And it’s got enough room for us to expand in the next five years.”

The company expects to grow by producing and selling tools domestically that currently are imported from the United Kingdom, Canada and China, Batty said. In addition to the tools, the company will build a film studio to produce educational videos about woodturning techniques. Batty said he plans to have 38 employees by the end of 2012.

Andrew Freeman, a commercial broker at Boulder-based Freeman Myre Inc., represented the landlord. The transaction represents the fourth lease or sale of a 25,000-square-foot-or-larger building at the Colorado Technology Center in the last couple of months, Freeman said.

“There is strong demand for industrial space right now in this park that includes multiple companies looking for space in the 50,000- to 100,000-square-foot range,” Freeman said in a statement.

Woodturning is a $300 million per year industry, with about 300,000 active hobbyists around the world working on projects, Batty said.