New design center for Caterpillar in South Dakota

‘Giant’ growth for sunflower seed producer

‘Giant’ growth for sunflower seed producer

• Image

COMPANY PROFILE - DAKOTA PROVISIONS

Turkey processing operation growing

• Image

McNeilus Steel continues to expand in spite of recession

McNeilus Steel Inc. is in the midst of a $16 million expansion project in Fargo.

• EXPANSION PROJECT

Q&A: Randy Schwartz, Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Schwartz says despite challenging market conditions, many manufacturers and individual plants are looking for ways to improve their processes, profitability and increase market share.

• Randy Schwartz

Manufacturers face challenging market

A number of companies, including Bobcat Company, Arctic Cat Inc., Polaris Industries Inc., Trail King Industries, Hutchinson Technology Inc., Rainbow Play Systems and JLG Industries, have reduced staffing, halted production or closed up shop in the region this year. But a few local companies have managed to buck the downward trend. Some like Summers Manufacturing manufacture products that have remained in strong demand. Others serve market niches or concentrate on government or military contracts that are less dependent on current economic swings.

• Talk about this topic
• Image

Prairie Pillar: Larson Manufacturing

Brookings, SD-based Larson Manufacturing is the nation’s largest manufacturer of storm doors and storm windows, selling its products through well-known outlets like Lowe’s, Menard’s and Home Depot.

• Image
• Talk about this topic
• Larson Manufacturing at a glance

Daktronics a major league player in sports arena

Daktronics scoreboards can be found in most major league and major college sports stadiums and arenas across the country. The company is also the world leader in full-color Light Emitting Diode (LED) video and messaging displays.

• Image
• Xcel Energy Center
• Target Field
• Brookings headquarters facility
• TCF Bank Stadium
• Talk about this topic

Prairie Pillar: SJE-Rhombus

For the last 21 years SJE-Rhombus, a Detroit Lakes, MN, area manufacturer and distributor of reliable flow switches and control systems for water, wastewater, sump and sewage systems, has been 100 percent employee owned. SJE-Rhombus has recently been named one of the best places to work in the country and has also been listed among the nation’s fastest-growing companies.

• Image
• Talk about this topic

Prairie Pillar: Bobcat positioning itself for the future

In the last half century West Fargo-based Bobcat Company has grown from a small North Dakota farm equipment manufacturer into a global player in the compact equipment segment. Bobcat, which was acquired by South Korean-based Doosan Infracore in 2007, is now a $2 billion company with nearly 1,000 dealerships in 90 countries and manufacturing plants in Bismarck, Gwinner, ND, Litchfield, MN, China, France and the Czech Republic.

• Image
• Bobcat at a glance
• Video interview with Rich Goldsbury, president of Bobcat Americas
• Talk about this topic

Prairie Pillar: Bell Incorporated

When it was purchased by Mark Graham in 1976, the company had just one full-time employee, annual sales of less than $40,000 and only a handful of customers. More than three decades later, Bell Incorporated is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing independently-owned folding carton manufacturers. The Sioux Falls-based company employs about 245 and had 2008 sales of about $68 million.

• Image

Prairie Pillar: Douglas Machine Inc.

Since its founding 45 years ago, Douglas Machine has become one of the world’s leading producers of secondary packaging systems, primarily for the North American food and beverage market. The company’s noteworthy clients include Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing Company and PepsiCo, among others.