GLENVILLE — A local company with a global market in custom nutrient premixes has broken ground on a $4.5 million distribution center on land formerly owned by Schenectady County in Glenville.

Fortitech is building a 48,000-square-foot facility on 20 acres it purchased for $1.1 million at the Schenectady County Airport. The company, which has a headquarters in the Riverside Technology Park off Maxon Road Extension, closed on the property Thursday. The county declared the land surplus and is using the $1.1 million to help balance its current budget.

Company Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Brian Wilcox said the warehouse should be completed in early spring. It will serve as the company’s North American distribution center.

Fortitech prepares material for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Some of its customers include the world’s largest conglomerates, such as Nestle’s.

Once the center is completed, Fortitech expects to add approximately 25 jobs to its Schenectady operations, both at the distribution center and at its Riverside Technology Park facility, Wilcox said.

The center will contain approximately seven truck bays and will incorporate energy-efficient features. For example, it will have 90 skylights to light the interior.

The structure is the fast-growing company’s latest facility. It operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in Denmark, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico and in California. It employs 175 people in Schenectady and a total of 340 worldwide. In 2007, it had gross sales of $130 million and expects to sell between $150-$160 million this year, Wilcox said. Founded in 1986, the company is privately held.

“We are the only player globally who is solely dedicated to the pre-mix business,” Wilcox said.

Fortitech’s strong national and international sales prompted it to seek land on which to build additional facilities, Wilcox said. It wanted to remain in Schenectady County and worked with the Metroplex Development Authority to find a suitable location, he said.

Fortitech moved to the city-owned technology park in 1995 from Rotterdam. Within a short time, it put two additions on the headquarters facility, bringing the total space there to 103,000 square feet. Several years later it acquired a nearly 18,000-square-foot structure. It has outgrown both facilities, Wilcox said.

The former airport land will allow Fortitech to expand further as need arises, Wilcox said. In a few years, the company may build a pilot 48,000-square foot research and development facility there, to expand its product lines.

“With the development center, we may actually develop products and help customers get them to the market sooner,” he said.

In a news release, Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature called the Fortitech project “another great economic development win for Schenectady County and a win for the taxpayers. The expansion of Fortitech and the creation of an exciting new airport tech park will add to our tax base and create more jobs for Schenectady County.”