Kewanee, IL USA
While fewer than 15 people are working now in the former BOMAG Americas plant on Kentville Road, the plant’s new owner sees big things ahead.
Within five years, Ben Endress said, he hopes the Midwest Trailer Manufacturing plant that’s working in the former compaction equipment factory will be turning out 500 trailers a year, and have 70 to 100 employees.
And another enterprise, Macon of Kewanee, should also add to the employment numbers at the plant.
Endress, along with brothers Phil and Adam Endress, acquired the plant last fall in an auction. His family’s Macon General Contractors business in Bradford produces grain storage structures, but there are no plans to move that operation to Kewanee.
Instead, Midwest Trailer Manufacturing is building steel dump trailers in part of the 230,000-square-foot plant that was built in the 1960s by Hyster Co.
At this point, Endress said, Midwest has 13 employees welding, painting and assembling the trailers.
Endress said they plan to produce about 100 trailers next year, and expand their production to 500 trailers, and at least 70 employees, within five years.
The trailers, which can haul gravel, asphalt, demolition debris and other materials, are being sold nationwide.
The trailers being made now are made of steel. Plans are also in the works to produce a line of aluminum trailers.
One use for the aluminum models, Endress said, would be as a chassis for medical equipment — a mobile MRI unit, for example.
The business produces full, quarter and frameless trailers for Class 8 trucks.
The frames come with LED lighting, aluminum wheels and weigh under 12,000 pounds.
Midwest was formed by James Hunt of Kewanee, the company’s president; Larry Garner of Monmouth, vice president; and engineer Russ Spencer of Sterling.
The three originally wanted to locate their plant in Havana, but couldn’t find large enough space there.
“And we had the facility, so it kind of made sense to partner up on this venture,” Endress said.
”We have been fortunate to find great employees who are doing a great job,” Hunt said. “Kewanee has gone the extra mile for us and we appreciate everything and everyone who has been a part of this.”
Hunt said he, Garner and Spencer have well over 40 years of experience in the industry including owning, operating, building and selling frames.
Midwest Trailer Manufacturing sells products to fleet businesses, dealers and individuals and can be reached at 309-937-1493 or www.midwesttrailermfg.com.
The Midwest Trailer Manufacturing operation takes up a little over half of the available space in the BOMAG plant, Endress said. Another 20,000 square feet is taken up by the powder-coating facility that the Endresses also purchased from BOMAG.
