A Berks County office furniture and seating company are relocating and expanding into Reading with a $6.5 million redevelopment project that city and state officials hailed as a sign of economic momentum in the city.
Ethosource and sister company Wyatt Seating announced plans to consolidate operations from a warehouse in Morgantown and offices in Wyomissing into a 109,000-square-foot industrial and office complex at 2047 Kutztown Road, a property last occupied in 2023 by C.H. Briggs Hardware.
The project will redevelop the vacant site into what officials described as a center for manufacturing, operations and innovation.
Operations at the new facility are expected to begin this fall, said John Gallen, president and owner of both companies.
Gallen said the move marks a major milestone for the family-owned businesses, which together employ about 60 workers.
“For 25 years, we rented space, but there comes a moment in life and in business when you have to decide if you’re going to just occupy space or plant roots,” Gallen said during a press conference at the property Wednesday. “Today we’re planting our roots right here.”
Founded in 2001, Ethosource is a nationwide office furniture dealer and remanufacturer. Wyatt Seating, founded in 2017, manufactures office seating sold across the country.
The companies operate a warehouse in Morgantown, an office in Wyomissing and a showroom in King of Prussia. Gallen said the Wyomissing and Morgantown operations will move into the Reading site, bringing administrative staff, designers, sales personnel, factory workers and other employees together under one roof.
“We are heading to Reading,” he said.
Ethosource and sister company Wyatt Seating announced the relocation of both companies to the former C. H. Briggs complex, at 2047 Kutztown Road. (MICHELLE LYNCH/READING EAGLE)
During a tour of the facility, he described the property as a complex of four or five interconnected warehouse and manufacturing buildings constructed over several phases roughly a century ago, along with a newer office building built about 25 years ago.
“There is a lot of work to be done here,” he said. “You’ll see a beautiful office space that just needs to be renovated and a very old industrial building that needs to be redone top to bottom.”
The facility had been vacant for about three years, according to city officials.
Mayor Eddie Moran called the investment a major vote of confidence in Reading and said the redevelopment reflects the city’s efforts to create a more business-friendly climate.
“This project sends a strong message about Reading,” Moran said. “We are open for business. We are ready for investment, and yes, heading to Reading is a smart move.”
Moran said the city’s community development department has worked to streamline processes and reduce barriers for businesses seeking to open, expand or relocate in Reading.
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach praised the Gallens for reactivating an aging industrial property at a time when many businesses have moved out of Reading.
“Taking a building that people wondered if it would ever be a productive use again and moving your business from Morgantown, your headquarters from Wyomissing here to this location, that’s transformative,” Leinbach said.
State Sen. Judy Schwank said the project brings the companies closer to much of their workforce, many of whom already live in or near Reading.
“Local family-owned businesses are the backbone of our community,” Schwank said. “There’s not a place in Berks County where this kind of investment makes a bigger difference than right here in the city of Reading.”
Deputy Secretary Rick Vilello of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development spoke to a group of elected officials and community leaders at a press conference heralding the planned move of Ethosource and sister company Wyatt Seating to the former C.H. Briggs complex, 2047 Kutztown Road. (MICHELLE LYNCH/READING EAGLE)
The Gallens also framed the move as part of a long family history in Reading.
Nat Gallen, vice president of sales for Wyatt Seating, said members of his family have operated businesses and civic institutions in the city for generations.
He referenced a 1954 speech by his great-grandfather, Sidney Kline, then-president of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, in which he urged business leaders to help create an atmosphere that will attract industry rather than repel it.
“Our dream is to further develop our companies as a fixture in the community by being even more visible,” Nat Gallen said.
Deputy Secretary Rick Vilello of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development said investments, such as the Ethosource project, help change public perceptions of struggling communities.
“When you look at the building that’s behind me and see an investment and a mission statement about people, that changes momentum,” Vilello said. “The next businesses, number two, number three, number four, are going to be more confident because of this investment here.”