Anybody who sees a groundbreaking ceremony knows the routine — dignitaries don hardhats, grab a shovel and grin for the cameras.
But for GC America’s groundbreaking in advance of an expansion at its Alsip headquarters Tuesday, with officials from its Japanese parent company present, a pacification or purification of the grounds by a priest took place before the traditional photo op.
The ritual, called Ji Chin Sai, is intended to invite the “kami,” or “local energies,” to grant their blessings to the site, according to Rev. Lawrence Koichi Barrish, a Shinto priest from Granite Falls, Wash., who was called upon to perform the ceremony.
As part of the purification, sake and salt were poured and scattered at the corners of the enclosure, which had been cut out of a section of the asphalt parking lot on the property where GC America will expand its operations.
The dental products company manufactures items such as impression materials for crafting a crown or cap, cements, sealants, denture bases and orthodontic equipment, including wires and brackets for braces.
Makoto Nakao, chairman of GC Corp., parent of GC America, and his wife, along with Steve Fletcher, president and chief operating officer of GC America, were among those called up to Barrish to take part in the ceremony. Nakao is the grandson of one of GC’s founders. The company was established in 1921, and GC America came into being in 1990 when Coe Laboratories, another dental products company in Alsip, was acquired.
Afterward, explaining to those in the audience who may have never before witnessed a traditional Japanese groundbreaking, Barrish said it would be similar to inviting a guest to one’s home. The purification is similar to the cleaning one would do prior to the visit, and the host, upon the guest’s arrival, speaking “honorific words of welcome,” he said.
Barrish, speaking to a reporter, said that “some emails went back and forth” regarding the preparation of the groundbreaking site.
“(Their instructions) were about the orientation of compass and astrological directions, sort of like feng shui,” he explained.
GC America bought the Lombard Office and Industrial Park directly to the west of its headquarters, at 3737 W. 127th St., and worked with remaining tenants to relocate them, according to Fletcher.
Demolition and site preparation will start this fall, with construction to begin next March and be completed by July 2019, according to Bora Sar, GC America’s director of manufacturing.
Along with its headquarters, GC has a training center and warehouse at 4300 W. 123rd St., also in Alsip, and leases some space from Crown Cork and Seal on 115th Street in Alsip. Expanding from the current 95,000 square feet at its headquarters to 150,000 square feet will enable the company to bring all operations to one location.
Aside from increased productivity of having everything under one roof, bringing employees together will improve communication and “bring energy to the company,” Fletcher said.
The expansion, in his remarks to the audience, will also enable GC America to bring research and development to the Alsip location and “closer to the American market.”
“Dentistry is a changing industry,” he said. “We have to get ahead of it.”
Design and construction of the expansion is being overseen by Kajima Building & Design Group, which also was responsible for the 2010 addition to the GC America headquarters, which added 20,000 square feet to the building.
Privately held, GC doesn’t disclose annual revenue or sales figures, and Fletcher declined to say what the company expected to spend on the expansion other than it will be “a significant investment.”
The company has nearly 300 employees among the three locations in Alsip, but that could grow to 350 over the coming five to 10 years, Sar said.
mnolan@tribpub.com
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