Driving down Highway 30 north of Altona, motorists can spot a massive steel structure peaking out from behind the tree line at the Elmer's Manufacturing site. The agriculture equipment manufacturer is undertaking a large-scale expansion project that, when completed, will offer streamlined assembly and paint operations, as well as added capabilities in order to accommodate future growth.

Originally slated for 2021/2022, the project was moved up following a devastating fire in March 2019 that saw the total loss of the business's previous paint and assembly facilities. 

"I want to express my thanks to our team at Elmer’s for coming together after the setback of the fire and rising to the challenge to get to where we are today, and for the support received from the community during that time. We are proud to be a part of the business community in the Altona/Rhineland region," said Mike Friesen, Vice President and General Manager.

Despite a challenging agriculture climate in recent years, growth also was a factor in the expansion.

"We're seeing more growth through the development of our market in North America and a little bit abroad," said Friesen, noting that although 2019 was a particularly tough year for the industry, the company pushed boundaries in order to gain a little bit more volume. "So where it was down in most areas, we just spread that out further. We were lucky to be able to do that."

The new 37,415 sq. ft building boasts over 23,000 sq. ft of extra space and includes an upgraded paint line with a monorail system connecting all operations, increased overhead crane capacity to help maximize efficiency and decrease lifting operations for staff, and will allow for all assembly and testing to be done indoors. These improvements are also expected to increase output capacity by more than four times the previous levels.

"Our previous facility was built some thirty years ago and built for different products that we manufactured back then and things have changed quite a bit since then," said Friesen, noting the company's grain carts are one example of how agriculture equipment has become bigger in scale. Expectations are that this added capacity will initially create more job opportunities, with the potential for more production and support positions as further growth continues.

Friesen notes this project is the first of a multi-phase expansion planned in the years to come.The hope is to have this initial expansion fully operational by the end of 2020.