Dauer Manufacturing (formerly operating as FUSA Corp) required industrial space capable of supporting manufacturing operations and distribution staging in the Nashville market. The company needed a facility with adequate power capacity, loading capability, and layout efficiency to support production — and needed to structure the lease in a way that provided long-term cost certainty for a capital-intensive operation.
At 124 months — over ten years — this was a long-term commitment by any measure. The lease economics and structural protections negotiated at execution would govern the company's occupancy cost for more than a decade.
Long-term industrial leases create a specific set of advisory challenges:
A 10+ year lease means rent escalations compound over time. A poorly structured escalation clause can significantly inflate total occupancy cost in the back half of the term.
Manufacturing facilities require infrastructure compatibility — power capacity, loading dock configuration, clear height, column spacing — that eliminates a large percentage of available inventory before the search begins.
Cushman & Wakefield, representing Prologis — one of the largest industrial REITs in the world — brought significant institutional resources to the negotiation.
The ramp-up period for manufacturing operations requires lease economics that account for the time between commencement and full production capacity.
The Giles Group applied its Define → Underwrite → Create Leverage → Execute framework to a long-horizon industrial assignment.
Documented the full manufacturing requirement — power specifications, loading configuration, production layout, office component, and utility requirements. Established the lease structure needed to support a production ramp-up and provide long-term cost certainty.
Evaluated Nashville industrial inventory for manufacturing compatibility. Assessed electrical infrastructure, loading capability, and layout efficiency across shortlisted options. Modeled total occupancy cost over the full 124-month term — including escalation impact — to identify the true cost of each option.
Identified competing viable facilities to establish negotiating pressure against Prologis. Structured the negotiation around both infrastructure commitments and lease economics simultaneously.
Negotiated lease terms aligned with the production ramp-up timeline and structured escalation provisions to provide long-term cost predictability. Managed execution through a Cushman & Wakefield-represented landlord.
Size: 24,000 SF
Lease Term: 124 months (10+ years)
Market: Nashville Industrial Submarket
Landlord: Prologis (institutional REIT)
Opposing Broker: Cushman & Wakefield
Infrastructure: Power capacity, loading configuration, and layout compatibility confirmed pre-LOI
Term Structure: Escalation provisions structured for long-term cost predictability
Outcome: Manufacturing-compatible facility secured; production ramp-up timeline protected
The most important work on a long-term industrial lease happens before the LOI is submitted. A 10-year commitment amplifies every decision made at the negotiating table. A rent escalation structure that looks manageable in year one looks very different in year eight.
The Giles Group underwrote the full 124-month term for every option on the shortlist — not just the starting economics. That analysis identified the total cost difference between options that looked similar in year one but diverged significantly over the full term. It also gave the client a factual basis to challenge Prologis's initial position rather than accepting institutional authority at face value.
Negotiating against Prologis and Cushman & Wakefield requires the same discipline as any institutional negotiation: preparation, market data, and a willingness to walk away from a deal that doesn't meet the client's requirements. The result was a long-term manufacturing home that Dauer could commit to — and a lease structure designed to protect that commitment over the full term.
Tell us about your requirement and we’ll walk through how the process applies — with no obligation.