HOUSTON—Zimmermann & Jansen Inc. has broken ground on a 120,000-square-foot industrial building in northeast Houston.

The valve manufacturer is relocating its headquarters from its current facility in Humble, Texas. Z&J Inc. will double in size, prompting the move to an upgraded facility in a deed-restricted industrial park, Travis Land with NAI Houston tells GlobeSt.com. The new building is under construction within Kennedy Greens Business Park located on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in northeast Houston. The property is scheduled for completion this summer.

"As an innovative and growing company, we are constantly striving to deliver best-in-class highly engineered solutions featuring technologically advanced products and services," says Daniele Cecchelli, president at Zimmermann & Jansen, Inc. "This new state-of-the-art facility will not only enhance our manufacturing capabilities, but it will also provide our employees with a great work environment and help better service our customers."

While industrial construction in Houston is remarkably high at over six million square feet underway, there is still demand driving construction activity across the city both from build-to-suit projects as well as speculate developments from REITS.

"I think there will be as much new construction delivered this year if not more" predicts Land. "2014 could easily outpace last year, the demand is there."

Of the six million square feet under construction, five million is underway in the North and Northwest Corridors. There is already limited availability of suitable land sites in these areas and along with rising per square foot prices, Land says users will need to expand their location searches further west or begin to look on the east side.

Land and Michael Keegan of NAI Houston represented Z&J in the transaction and Charlie Christ of Clay Development and Construction Inc. represented the developer.

IMI Severe Service business Zimmermann & Jansen Inc. is a manufacturer of large diameter, high temperature, severe service valves for the steel, glass, refining, chemical and petrochemical industries.  IMI Severe Service will relocate all operations for Z&J, Inc. and Remosa.