Equipment Report

Bandit expands its Michigan manufacturing presence

Remus, Michigan-based Bandit Industries Inc. celebrated the acquisition of a facility in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 5. The facility, formerly owned by a metal tank manufacturing firm, offers 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space and is on 24 acres of land.

“These buildings and this property will be so instrumental in growing our company as we continue to ramp up to meet the growing demand for our products,” Bandit CEO Jerry Morey said at the ceremony.

Morey said the facility could benefit by drawing employees from the Mount Pleasant region to meet the company’s need for new staffing. The building’s proximity to the highway also serves as an additional convenience, the firm says.

“The primary facility of this site is ideal for producing one of our major product lines, [and] we will be adding a new paint room before we move a line here,” Morey said, referring to Bandit’s whole tree chipper and horizontal grinder product lines.

Also planned for relocation to the new site is Bandit’s electrical team, responsible for producing wiring harnesses for all Bandit products. Future plans include moving the rebuild department from Remus, according to Bandit.

This year marks Bandit’s 40th anniversary. The company says much of its success is attributable “to quality products, an amazing dealer network, [a] loyal customer base and their dedicated hard-working employees.”

Bandit’s product line consists of hand-fed and whole-tree chippers, stump grinders, scrap wood grinders and the Arjes brand of slow-speed shredders.

Bandit became an employee-owned company in 2018. “We initially looked at selling to another manufacturing company and then an investment banking company but backed out of those offers over concerns for our employees and the future of the company,” Morey said.

During the next couple of years, Morey said he anticipates the company likely will need an additional 200 employees and hopes to fill 95 open positions by the end of 2023.

In addition to the new Mount Pleasant facility, Bandit invested $14 million in 2022 in expansion projects at its main campus that included adding an 80,000-square-foot “steel room” featuring new cutting and machining equipment and robots.

Omnia Machinery opens US location

Omnia Machinery, a United Kingdom-based provider of used heavy equipment, has opened a new branch in Miami—its first location in the United States.

Omnia is a global supplier of heavy plant and construction machinery, including cranes, earth-moving equipment and machinery that is used in quarry and road construction applications.

Listings included a McCloskey screen used by recyclers of construction and demolition materials. Its earth-moving listings include wheel loaders, excavators and hydraulic material handlers by brands such as Case Construction, Caterpillar, Kobelco, Komatsu and Liebherr.

According to Omnia, the company’s growth and development over the last six years led to its expansion into the U.S. Omnia says it has assembled a team of experts in the U.S. to better serve its North and South American customers.

According to the company, Miami is “logistically beneficial for shipping as the surrounding ports make exporting easier, thereby allowing us to supply machinery more efficiently around the world.”

In addition to helping customers find the used machinery they require, Omnia Machinery staff members will aid them in the sale of equipment no longer in use.

Terramac adds to manufacturing capacity

Terramac, a Sugar Grove, Illinois-based maker of rubber-tracked crawler carriers, has expanded its production capacity with the commissioning of a new assembly facility in St. Louis.

The company, which opened its new Sugar Grove headquarters near Chicago last year, says the new industrial space will allow it to deliver more machines for the North American and international markets.

“It’s an exciting time for Terramac,” says Warner Fencl, vice president with St. Louis-based CK Power Family of Cos., the parent company of Terramac. “We took an existing older, shuttered 100,000-square-foot complex located on 8 acres in an industrial area of north St. Louis and are returning it to manufacturing.”

The assembly plant, scheduled to begin operating later this month, will start with two production lines, each with a production capacity of 250 crawler carriers per year and with room for expansion, according to the company.

“We designed the facility for efficiency and productivity, with the ability to quickly change over from one model to another as demand necessitates,” Fencl says.

The facility has more than 275 tons of overhead crane lift capacity designed to handle multiple assembly requirements. When fully operational, the St. Louis plant will complement existing Terramac production, allowing the company to meet the growing demand for its crawler carriers, the firm says.

“We are excited about revitalizing the plant facility, as well as the neighboring area,” CK Power Vice President J.J. Costello says. “Our plans to ultimately hire more than 100 employees over the next couple of years, drawing from the local workforce, will help support our goals for the company and the community.”

Terramac calls its straight frame and rotating crawler carriers the most versatile machines on the market.

“We work closely with our North American dealer network to engineer crawler carriers for many different industries and uses,” Terramac Vice President Matt Slater says. “With a variety of sizes, rotational capabilities and extended frame options, the potential uses of Terramac crawler carriers are endless, and the new facility allows us to adjust production as needed.”

John L. Coughlin, president and CEO of Plant City, Florida-based equipment dealer Linder Industrial Machinery, has been working with Terramac for more than six years.

“We have used Terramac crawler carriers in so many configurations for our customers,” Coughlin says. “There have been times when keeping up with demand has been more challenging, especially with the nationwide shortages, so it is great to see Terramac taking control of its production. Terramac’s progressive approach will ensure we have access to the carriers we need to adequately equip our customers.”

Terramac’s crawler carriers are used in construction, landfill management, environmental restoration and reclamation, renewable energy, forestry and several other applications.

C&C Manufacturing names president, chief operating officer

Ottumwa, Iowa-based C&C Manufacturing, a manufacturer of landfill compactors, car crushers, metal baling and airport snow removal equipment, has announced the appointment of David Bradford as president and chief operating officer.

Bradford has more than 22 years of manufacturing and management experience from his time at Moline, Illinois-based John Deere.

He most recently served as operations manager for Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bondurant, Iowa.

“C&C Manufacturing [grew] over 125 percent last year with significant expansion in its core manufacturing business and … parts and service business, and it also opened a new, certified refurbishing facility,” says Salvatore C. Calvino, chairman of C&C Manufacturing and CEO of Equivu Capital, a Florida-based private investment firm that acquired C&C Manufacturing in 2021. “David’s depth of manufacturing expertise, leadership experience and strong track record of success [make] him the ideal executive to lead C&C Manufacturing in this next phase of growth.”

During his career at John Deere, Bradford held several roles, including director of global tractor and loader fulfillment; general manager for John Deere Ottumwa Works, where he led manufacturing for six product families of baling and mowing equipment; a factory manager for John Deere Seeding Works, where he worked with the North Dakota Economic Develop Group on a $21 million factory expansion; business unit manager for crawler operations; and an engineer at the company’s technical center.

“I am thrilled to join C&C Manufacturing as president [and chief operating officer] and lead it at this high-growth time, leveraging the backing of Sal Calvino, Gaylon Cowan and Jeff Cowan,” Bradford says of his appointment. “My many years in the local Ottumwa community make it especially gratifying to join this amazing company and spearhead its manufacturing operations.”

Metso shortens its name

The board of directors of the Finland-based equipment company known for the past three years as Metso Outotec has voted to change the company name to Metso Corp.

“After the successful integration of Metso and Outotec, we will focus on growing a strong unified Metso company and brand,” President and CEO Pekka Vauramo says.

He adds, “We have combined two valuable companies into one strong Metso. Our focus is clear: We continue enabling sustainable modern life and transforming the industry with a clear strategy and strong culture, supported by a name that is short yet established and well-recognized among all our stakeholders.”

Metso says Outotec will live on as a product brand.

“The visual identity of the company remains unchanged, but the new name is reflected in the company logo,” the company says.

Metso’s executive team also has been relabeled as the Metso leadership team.

Separately, Metso has issued a report on its first-quarter sales, citing “strong activity in the mining industry globally and the aggregates market in North America.”

The maker of mining, quarrying, metals production and aggregates recycling equipment saw an 8 percent increase in orders in the first quarter of 2023 compared with a year ago, with that figure checking in at more than $1.5 billion euros (nearly $1.7 billion).

Metso’s earnings before interest, taxes and amortization of 215 million euros ($237 million) is a 37 percent increase from a year ago.

“The group’s total orders increased 8 percent, driven primarily by 29 percent order growth in the Minerals services business,” Vauramo says. “This reflects strong market activity in our customer industries, particularly in the mining services and equipment. Demand was also strong in the North American aggregates market, while the demand in Europe was sequentially stable but lower year on year.”

Metso says its Aggregates and Minerals segments reported record-high margins, while the profitability of the Metals segment continued at a good level in the first quarter of this year.