After more than two years of waiting, Bruce Cauley and the gang at Custom Collars recently opened the doors to a new facility.

The new 10,000-square foot building is located at the Opp East Indus-trial Park off of the Opp bypass, across from MFG Alabama.

Custom Collars, which has been in Opp since 2000, needed the additional space in order to accept additional work and clients.

The company manufactures numerous items for hunting dogs and pets, and is diversifying its line of products to reach other types of markets.

“We’re like ducks out of water,” Cauley said of the move. “We have room to expand, and we’ve picked up three new contracts since we’ve been here.”

Cauley said the company now employs a total of 20 people. Before the expansion, the company employed around six.

If business continues to pick up, Cauley said he may add more jobs by the end of the year.

“We’ve been waiting a while for this, and we’re glad to be here,” Cauley said.

The expansion became a reality in March 2010, when the governor’s office announced a $150,000 Community Development Block Grant that was awarded for the project to help the city provide sewer and water to the industrial park.

The city also announced it was supplying $45,240 in local funding for the project.

The city also received a $350,000 Department of Transportation grant to construct a new access road to the park in November 2009.

Opp Mayor H.D. Edgar said previously that it would be a lease-purchase project between the city and Custom Collars.

“We will build the 10,000-square foot building for Custom Collars, and then it will be leased as a lease-purchase agreement back to Custom Collars,” Edgar said.