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Q&A
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NIM FRAZER Nim Frazer plays multiple roles in the company his father started, Industrial Partners, LLC. He’s part owner, General Manager, leasing agent, a Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) real estate agent and often onsite when the company is building industrial buildings, where he’s as comfortable in his hard hat as any of the others he wears. When was Industrial Partners founded? 1974. I
years. We recently bought the remaining three lots we had
started with the company in 1985.
under option, and we have a 118,000 square-foot building expansion underway now on one of those. We already have
What are the primary services of IP? We help a
a new company coming into part of this expansion, and we
wide range of clients get the industrial building that fits their
have an additional 67,000 square feet of space available. It’s
needs. We do this by functioning as commercial industrial
all class A industrial space, as is everything out here. MIP has
real estate agents. We offer site analysis. We design and
restrictions, and all buildings must be either pre-cast masonry
build to suit industrial buildings and manage construction on
and block or tilt-up construction.
expansions of existing buildings.
What is the most rewarding part of your work? What got you interested in industrial building and real estate? During high school in the summers, I
Sometimes, I can’t believe I get paid to have this much fun.
worked for a construction company on its crew and was so
impact on the community. IP is creating jobs and making it
fascinated watching the progress we made each day on site.
possible for new businesses to locate here and for existing
It’s great to work hard and then see tangible results of that
businesses to grow and expand. It’s also interesting to learn
labor.
about all the different businesses we serve. When we build
I feel so fortunate to be in a business I like and that has an
a space for them, we have to learn about what they do and
What challenges has IP recently faced?
how they do it, so it’s just fun to keep learning new things.
Construction costs have gone up so much over the last three
And we could not do what we do without the support of the
years, rising 8-10 percent a year. To help with this, I invested
Chamber. You don’t get any better than their folks like Ellen
in a start-up construction company, Partners Construction
McNair who have the experience, expertise and creativity to
LLC being founded by a contractor we’ve known and worked
bring businesses here.
with for years. Industrial Partners has no direct ownership, for the best quality construction. It’s allowing us to develop
Why do you choose to be so supportive of the Chamber and its work? Growing up, I saw firsthand
industrial properties on a spec basis in Montgomery at a time
how important it was for local businesses to support the
when no one else is. And since all our existing inventory was
Chamber. My dad was Chamber Chairman in 2000, and I was
already leased, and we needed to keep growing, we had to
Chairman in 2010. I think we are the only father-son chairs. It
build more, and we had to get creative to do that.
was just instilled in me early on how important the Chamber’s
but I do as an investor. This allows IP to get the best price
work and role in our community is.
What are your interests outside of work? I serve
pecan orchard that Montgomery County owned. About 15
on a few boards I’m passionate about, including Magic
years ago, we had the opportunity to buy some of the land,
Moments. I love what they do for Alabama kids with cancer.
so we did. Montgomery needed an upscale industrial park.
I’ve also served many years on the Metro Board with the
We built the first building out here, so we were the catalyst.
YMCA. I have a wonderful family. I like to read a lot. And I’m
Then we committed to build the next building as soon as that
building a beach house right now and looking forward to
one was leased or sold, and we continued that method for 14
enjoying that.
26 MONTGOMERY BUSINESS JOURNAL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT FOUTS.
What part has IP played in the development of the Montgomery Industrial Park? It was a former
