By the Faulk County Record [1]
Common Sense Manufacturing [2] in Faulkton aims to have a roomier place to work by late spring. The company, which makes durable agriculture equipment such as bale feeders and calf shelters, broke ground on the facility July 16.
“It’s going to be a big building,” said owner Kelly Melius. “The plans for the building will be 120 feet wide by 200 feet long and 25 feet tall. We needed the extra height for all the raw materials we’ll have inside and something big enough to house them. It will have a built-in hoist system so we can accommodate large semi-trucks coming in with large bundles of steel, so my employees have as much room to work as possible.
“This, or a project like this, has been in the works for about two years. Getting the right plan has been the key issue. I wanted to have a built-in hoist system and a lot of workspace so that we can tackle several projects at one time.”
Melius added that a two-story, 20×80-foot office building with a break room and bathroom will be attached to the main manufacturing building. The company employs up to 16 people during their winter busy season.
The new facility will be located two miles north of junction Highway 212 and 45.
Melius hopes that the building will be up by the end of November, and that after their winter production peak, he’ll be able to move the main production to the new building in either April or May of next year.
Melius said that the old shop will still be in use as their research and development workshop.
“We’ve already been talking about keeping a smaller crew at the old shop, and the main thing that will come out of the old shop is new product,” Melius said. “We’re always looking for a good idea that we can expand into our product lines.”
Dakotafire featured Common Sense Manufacturing in a recent story about companies’ recruiting practices [3].