A growing Minneapolis-based company will more than triple the size of its Chattanooga offices with a move to Century Oaks Commons in October.

McQuay International, one of the largest makers of refrigeration and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment in the world, has secured a lease in the development, which is near the Bonny Oaks Industrial and Office Park.

“Our company’s growth initiative is to expand and grow,” said Patrick Hanley, McQuay’s district manager. “We are looking at by 2010 to be the No. 1 air conditioning company in the world, and this is part of the plan.”

The company has been in Chattanooga for about 10 years and has offices on Hixson Pike. The local office, McQuay Factory Service, has four employees and performs service and maintenance for the company’s local commercial air-conditioning customers.

Mr. Hanley said the offices in Century Oaks Commons should be completed by the end of October. The new space is about 5,000 square feet, much larger than the 1,500 square feet of space it now occupies. The move comes as part of a companywide initiative, he said, and it plans to hire more employees to staff its sales division here.

McQuay’s parent company is Daikin Industries, an $810 million business headquartered in Osaka, Japan.

Jeff Jennings with NAI Charter Real Estate Corp. brokered the lease between McQuay and property owners Haisten Family Partners LLC. The announcement by McQuay makes it the second international company to lease offices at the Century Commons. Uniform manufacturer Cintas has offices in the development for its fire protection business.

Mr. Jennings said McQuay has been looking at Chattanooga in the past but only recently decided to put more focus on the city and its offices here.

“This is another positive announcement of an international company believing in and investing in Chattanooga,” he said.

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