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GREENSBORO — Replacements Ltd. announced plans Tuesday to triple the square footage of its main center off Interstate 40/85, a move that will provide more room to inventory and store the 12 million pieces of china, crystal, silver and collectibles in the company’s catalog.

The expanded headquarters, which will add more than 500,000 square feet, will cost about $15 million.

“This is our most significant capital investment to date in the company’s history,” said Lisa Conklin, the company spokeswoman.

The move also will unify under one roof the company’s nearly 550 employees, now scattered among the main campus and three other locations.

“We’re now operating out of four facilities,” said Scott Fleming, the company president. “You can imagine the inefficiencies that come up.”

In some areas of the warehouse, pieces of delicate crystal are crammed together because of lack of space. Some employees spend part of their days shuttling from site to site to do their jobs.

Consolidating the business under one roof will increase productivity, Fleming said, estimating that reorganized shelves could increase efficiency by 30 to 40 percent for employees who pull merchandise for shipping.

That’s especially important during the holiday season, he said.

Most of the added space will be devoted to warehousing and inventory storage. That space will help the company build upon one of its strengths: Having supply on hand when demand increases.

The company sees the greatest surge in requests for a particular pattern after it’s discontinued by the manufacturer, making it imperative to have adequate stock on hand.

Having enough space to house inventory until it sells ultimately means the company can grow, Fleming said.

The planned expansion is the second for the company — which bills itself as having the largest selection of old and new china, crystal, silver and collectibles in the world — at the Knox Road location since it moved there in 1990.

“Building a new building is cheaper than paying the lease on the other buildings,” said Bob Page, the owner and CEO of the company. “It’s a good time to build from the aspect that some of the contractors aren’t as busy right now.”

Replacements is having a good year during a slow economy, leaders said, posting modest sales growth so far this year.

Company officials said they don’t anticipate the expansion having an impact on the neighborhood.

The project is scheduled to start early next year and should to take about a year to complete.

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita.withers@news-record.com