Tag Archives: ITW-Magnaflux

10 Reasons Why Manufacturing Rocks in DeWitt!

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  1. Easy to “see” products. Items in your home contain products made right here in DeWitt. Your house foundation of crushed limestone, sand and gravel is produced by Wendling Quarries. Blow-molded pieces of your dishwasher are manufactured at Custom-Pak. Windows in your kitchen have Guardian Industries’ glass. Your 8-person luxury spa is manufactured and designed by QCA Spas.
  2. World-wide Impact. ITW-Fluids North America sends $30,000,000 of product out each year, frequenting Mexico, China and Japan. QCA Spas ship hot tub spas to Europe, Panama and Thailand. Expander Americas routinely ships to companies in Chile, Columbia and South Africa. Ennis Business Forms consistently ships orders to Panama. ITW-Magnaflux ship all over the world (except to banned countries).
  3. Giants of Vitality. Think jobs and a healthy local economy. Nearly 1,000 people work at a manufacturing plant in DeWitt. These employees buy goods and services, rent or buy homes, and enjoy recreational amenities right here in town. That puts hard-working dollars back into the community. The industrial and commercial property taxes that come from these companies help to fund city services such as police and fire departments, library, community center, trail systems – as well as infrastructure and street projects.
  4. Local loyalty. One of the top reasons manufacturers come to DeWitt is the loyalty of the local labor workforce. At Ennis Business Forms, the longest-standing manufacturer in DeWitt for nearly 50 years, employees have an average tenure of 27 years. Even after retirement, employees return as needed to fill in during demanding times.
  5. The Glass is half-full. Guardian Industries, DeWitt’s largest company, employees over 350 employees. The DeWitt plant produces enough float glass to make a 10 foot wide ribbon from DeWitt to Grand Mound and back, each day. That glass can be seen in the Nebraska Corn Huskers Memorial Stadium, Green Bay Packer’s Lambeau Field, and the MGM Grand in Vegas, just to name a few.
  6. Eco-friendly. Irwin, Inc. started with a guy who saw waste and found a niche in remanufacturing used wood pallets. Old pallets are repaired with new wood and nails. The old nails are melted down and recycled and the worn out wood panels are repurposed for mulch or for use in the wood burner stove heating the shop. Irwin, Inc. prides themselves on minimizing waste and cutting energy costs. To understand the scope of their salvaging efforts, on average, one person repairs 3,200 broken pallets/week. (One worker broke the company record in 2015, repairing 908 pallets in one day.)
  7. Diversity in products. At ITW-Fluids North America, from their 5 product brands, they can make over 1,000 different products. QCA Spas makes 30 different versions from their 6 spa series. At Ennis Business Forms, they make thousands of different products from their 5 different printing processes. Expander Americas can make over 60,000 designs from their one patented pivot pin. Black Cat Blades manufactures 21,000 part numbers associated with one line of road maintenance vehicles. The scope and variety of products manufactured in DeWitt are relatively limitless.
  8. Innovation. At Custom-Pak, they not only make unique blow-molded products, they are the leader in advanced blow-molding technology, which means they program and custom-build their own equipment. They also make the packaging for shipping. And being conscience of waste, any unused material gets recycled to manufacture additional products at another facility.
  9. Measures of growth. One reason Expander Americas relocated to DeWitt in 2014, was to have more access to raw material, which increased their capability by 50% and urged them to purchase additional equipment and hire more job positions. 6 months ago, QCA Spas moved their Thera Suana production to the DeWitt facility, permitting more room to expand. In September of this year, Irwin, Inc. acquired a custom pallet company which uses new wood, built to custom design. Less than a year ago, Black Cat Blades added blade production to their facility, manufacturing 21,000 different parts associated with just one line dedicated to road maintenance vehicles.
  10. Something for everyone. Operators, engineers, programmers, assemblers, technicians, mechanics, drafters, machinists, welders, managers, planners, accountants and secretaries encompass a fraction of the variety of jobs found at manufacturing companies in DeWitt.