Manufacturing is making a come-back in Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa and this is no where more obvious than outside Roseville at the Fusion Tech Headquarters. I was at their offices with my 24 students yesterday for a tour and Q & A session with Brandon and his senior staff.
There is a positive buzz in the air. Brandon recently annouced a major expansion with a new $2.5 Million Dollar facility and 72 new hires slated for the next 12-18 months. Fusion Tech evolved from a installation team approach for big companies such as BPI http://www.beefproducts.com/ to manufacturing their own brand of food processing equipment. Recently, Fusion Tech expanded its roster of major manufacturing clients to include John Deere, Case, and many other major exporters. Brandon estimated around $10 Million in annual sales but that projection shifts with the economy. Fusion Tech is a job shop that started on Kathy’s parents farm house garage in 1997. They specialized in quick turnaround of precision crafted machine parts for industrial companies but quickly moved into manufacturing. Their manufacturing philosophy is tied to the latest technology, but most importantly, the shifting needs of their customers.
One example of how far they have come is their current project with Hitachi Mining in Japan. They are making critical parts for the largest trucks Hitachi builds, parts that other job shops could not create cost effectively. “We turn around orders in weeks rather than the industry standard month or two”.
Fusion Tech has grown by word of mouth. They pride themselves on doing quality work with the latest tools. They demonstrated the water drills, lasers, and other machinery used in creating football field sized AC units, food processing air purifiers and handlers, and signs or precision parts created by their staff. The only thing Brandon mentioned that was a big impediment to even more hiring and greater profitability was the high taxes in Illinois. “Individuals need a tax break too”.
Brandon claims he spends less sleepless nights than in the past over worry he could get financing for the factory expansion or that his company was too focused on his largest customers. He started with only $200 and some tools in the garage. “Despite the fact that key employees and I spent 100+ hours on the job some weeks, I enjoy what I do– installing our products, and I realized that if I had not started this, 50+ people and their families would have to find work somewhere else. It was a dream that turned into reality over the last 14 years”.
