Masaba Inc., a bulk material handling and crushing equipment maker based in Vermillion, South Dakota, has broken ground on a new steel fabrication facility adjacent to its existing manufacturing plant in Vermillion.
The firm is adding 125,000 square feet of fabrication space and about 20,000 square feet of office space next to its existing 211,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. The planned space will house more than $15 million in new steel fabrication equipment and will be fully operational by May 2025.
“Masaba continues to invest in our team, the industries we serve, our local economy and America," Masaba founder and CEO Jerad Higman says. "MASABA will be on the leading edge in steel processing and will continue to increase the bar on quality. This expansion will allow Masaba to centralize all processing equipment in one building and utilize automation to process all our plate and structural steel.”
The company designs, engineers and manufactures bulk material handling equipment for the aggregate, mining, recycling, agricultural and marine industries, including its Magnum telescoping conveyors, truck unloaders, portable and stationary conveyors, plus crushing, screening and wash plants.
“Our investment in the new facility will streamline our operations, expand manufacturing space, and give us the ability to become more vertically integrated,” Higman says. “We will be able to repurpose our current steel fabrication area into additional weld and assembly bays, which will allow us to meet the increased customer demand we have seen since 2020.
“The expansion positions us well for future growth. The city of Vermillion and the state of South Dakota have been great partners and supporters of this project.”