Harmonic Drive to Relocate to New HQ in Beverly
Harmonic Drive has outgrown the two buildings it currently occupies in Peabody and the move to Dunham Ridge will allow it to consolidate its functions into one building and expand its footprint to accommodate growth.
BEVERLY, MA—High-tech manufacturer Harmonic Drive, LLC is returning to its roots here.
The company that began operations here nearly 60 years ago has purchased nearly five acres of land at the Dunham Ridge office technology campus in Beverly owned by Cummings Properties and has started work on its new 100,000-square-foot headquarters and high-tech manufacturing facility.
Harmonic Drive has outgrown the two buildings it currently occupies in Peabody and the move to Dunham Ridge will allow it to consolidate its functions into one building and expand its footprint to accommodate growth, company officials say.
“Harmonic Drive had been looking for a new location for our US headquarters and manufacturing facility for quite some time,” says Harmonic Drive CEO Doug Olson. “Since our employees are key to the strength and growth of our business, we wanted to stay very close to the North Shore, where many of our employees live.”
Originally a division of United Shoe Machinery Corp., Harmonic Drive designs and manufactures motion control products, including precision servo actuators, gear heads, and gear component sets. Its technology is used primarily in robotics and semiconductor manufacturing, but has also been used on the International Space Station, Mars Explorer Rovers, and even the Lunar Rover that was driven on the moon in 1971.
Site work has begun on the Beverly facility. Harmonic Drive is aiming to have the building’s shell weathertight by the end of this year so construction crews can work on the interior buildout during the winter. Connolly Brothers of Beverly is serving as general contractor for the project, which is slated for completion in the summer of 2019.
“Given Harmonic Drive’s impressive growth, its record of success and innovation, and its historical ties to Beverly, we could not be more pleased to welcome this firm back home,” says Steve Drohosky, VP of Cummings Properties, who worked directly with Olson on the sale.
Dunham Ridge is currently anchored by medi-tech firm Microline Surgical, which leases 67,000 square feet at 50 Dunham Ridge, the 54-acre site’s original building. Other tech clients at the campus include drug safety firm spmd and GreenBananaSEO.
Cummings Properties is currently constructing two additional mixed-use buildings of approximately 150,000-square-feet each at Dunham Ridge and is offering two more land parcels for sale there as well.