May 5th marks one year since the Steel Coil Facility Expansion opened its doors in Manly, Iowa. The transfer station is an expansion that’s been a game changer for Sukup Manufacturing Co. Especially during a time of high steel prices; this location has helped reduce the shipping costs related to the highly sought after product.
Capital Improvements and Infrastructure Manager, Andy Schmitt, helps oversee the site. It’s been time spent moving in machinery and getting the expansion functioning and fully-staffed. He describes a busy yet exciting time of growth at the five acre location.
“Our maintenance staff, tool and die staff, and rigging staff really are the heartbeat of our plant. They keep things running. In a year where they probably felt like the task we put in front of them was unattainable, they’ve proven even their own doubts wrong. And we cannot thank them enough for all their hard work.”
The Sukup expansion was able to diversify transportation and not only utilizes the railroad but is able to pull from an employment pool that’s different from the corporate headquarters in Sheffield, Iowa.
When fully staffed, there will be upwards of 25-30 employees. But according to Schmitt, it will take more time before all production cells are fully installed.
Until then there is still much to gain. The location at the Manly terminal has brought the railway to and *through* the facility.
Schmitt believes that is just one of many reasons, from a supply-chain perspective, that owning the Manly site has been a game changer and a cost saver for the overall Sukup Manufacturing Co.
“Being able to control our shipping and storage needs in an area so close to our headquarter production location is really an invaluable asset, especially in the world we’re living in today. We used to pay to truck our coils further north of our headquarters to a storage location we didn’t own and again had to pay storage fees monthly.”
Sukup Manufacturing Co. is planning an official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Steel Coil Facility Thursday May 5th.
This is a repost of a initial post on May 2, 2022