Aero Tech Designs pedals a new path

North Side clothing manufacturer moves, shifts its strategy

After spending three years on the North Side, a company that manufactures bicyclist clothing is pedaling out of the city.

Aero Tech Designs Inc. is selling its 60,343-square-foot manufacturing facility at 2345 Preble Ave. in anticipation of the move.

It is seeking $3.5 million for the property, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette distribution center it paid $2.6 million for in 2015, according to Allegheny County real estate records. The Press Acquisition Corp. bought it for $2.96 million in 1992.

Cathy Rogers, Aero Tech president, said the company intends to stay in the Pittsburgh region and already has picked out a spot. She declined to say where. Aero Tech plans to relocate by the end of the summer.

Ms. Rogers tied the sale of the property and the relocation to a “strategic change in the way we do business.” The company, she said, is healthy and vibrant but is scaling back some of its manufacturing activity while sticking to what it does best — designing bicyclist apparel.

“We’re staying local. We are just looking to change our business model a little bit. We don’t need as much space as we used to have. We’re trying to sell the building so we can save some money,” she said.

Like many retailers, Ms. Rogers said, Aero Tech has had a tough time competing against e-commerce giants like Amazon that can secure similar products in China and sell them more cheaply.

“It’s a huge price discrepancy. The reality is, people don’t care where clothes come from, whether it’s here or there,” she said.

Because of the cost, it “is not a sustainable business model for us to manufacture in the city,” Ms. Rogers added.

With the move, the company plans to outsource more of its