WATERLOO - Moving day will always bring unanticipated headaches. For Craft-Cochran Athletic Goods owners Keith Sandvold and Steve Miles, just getting to moving day presented obstacles. They discovered their lot didn't have a gas line the day contractors were to begin laying the floor of their new building.

The business is moving both of its locations, one in Waterloo, another in Cedar Falls, into one building at 3122 Titan Trail Drive.

With space tight in both locations and some of the company's services duplicated, the business needed more room. Sandvold said he didn't want to relocate outside Waterloo. The business has called the city home since it opened in 1948.

"I think it needs to stay in Waterloo," Sandvold said.

Deer Creek Development LLC helped them find a new home in the new Green Belt Centre. Craft-Cochran began moving equipment and office supplies into its new 17,000-square-foot building last weekend.

The 7,000-square-foot Ansborough store opened in 1994, but Miles said it outgrew its space in about two years as the emphasis of the business shifted to screen printing.

The company later acquired Standard Screen Print, adding to its capacity. But the screen printing business also duplicated some services at both locations.

"You're always making trips back and forth," Miles said. Some equipment even sat unused because of the lack of space.

Sandvold doesn't anticipate such problems at his new location.

"We could set this building inside our production area in our new building," he said while sitting at the Ansborough store.

Development areas and industrial parks aren't just for out of town businesses looking to relocate. These spaces help ensure that as Cedar Valley businesses grow, they don't outgrow the area.

Linda Laylin, the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance director of business services and workforce recruitment, keeps tabs of businesses looking for some breathing room and developers who have the space to offer. Sometimes those pairings come together spontaneously.

Sadler Power Train in Waterloo found a new location on W. Airline Highway. That move let Cedar Valley Culligan expand into the vacated former Sadler building next door.

Cedar Valley Culligan owner Kevin Gillett said he could foresee needing more space when he acquired the store in 1998. Two days before Gillett was scheduled to meet with a contractor about expanding, he got a call from Sadler branch manager Vince Haislet asking if he was still interested in buying the building.

That choice was the best alternative, Gillett said.

"We didn't want to move out of Waterloo," he said. "We're well established here."

At Craft-Cochran, Sandvold expects production capacity to double by eliminating the inefficiency of being spread out to two locations. Miles designed the production layout to better accommodate the flow of work.

"It's nice and wide open," said Dorsie Cooper, head screen printer, as he hauled boxes out of the Ansborough store. "We were just on top of each other here."

Sandvold also looks forward to having a bit more room.

"I'm excited because I'll have my own office," he said. "I haven't had my own office in more than 10 years."