GLENCOE - The McLeod County Chronicle

McLeod County Chronicle, March 20, 2013 HORIZON Page 5Miller Manufacturing: It just keepsadding more space, more jobsBy Rich GlennieEditorArecent tour of Miller Manufacturing’snewly expanded facilitiesin Glencoe gave the impressionthat space is filling up quickly,not only outward, but upward.The newly opened addition — 25,000square feet of warehouse storage space— “was filled in 12 hours,” said MillerManufacturing CEO Dan Ferrise prior tothe tour.In parts of the facility, inventory wasstacked to the ceiling, towering over theaisles, and gave the feeling of walkingthrough a canyon.There were even mini-traffic jams asforklifts scurried through the aisles,honking at the intersections, warningother drivers and pedestrians to beware.And additions are not done, yet. A60,000-square-foot distribution centerexpansion is in the plans for next year,Ferrise said.The expansions and robust employmentfigures have caught the attention ofpoliticians as well.Ferrise led the tour for U.S. Sen. AmyKlobuchar, D-Minn., who was in Glencoein February to update Miller’s managementas well as city and county officialson happenings in Washington, D.C.Miller Manufacturing’s continued growth in bothspace needs and workers has caught the attention ofmany on the state and federal level. Recently, U.S.Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., toured the facility withMiller Manufacturing’s CEO Dan Ferrise, left. WhenMiller Manufacturing, along withowner Dennis Frandsen, also were honoredby the city as its Manufacturer ofthe Year in October 2012.Seventh District U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson,D-Minn., also toured the facility,and at the time called Minnesota’s manufacturingsector the “pride of the 7thCongressional District.”So how does Miller Manufacturingcontinue to add jobs, while many othersaround the state and country are sheddingmanufacturing jobs?“Since Miller’s move out to Glencoe in2005, we have grown our business byover 60 percent and added over 100 fulltimeemployees,” said Ashley Lenz, marketingcommunications director forMiller Manufacturing.“This facility now employs up to 185full- and part-time employees at varioustimes throughout the year and continuesto grow.“We have a ‘healthy growth’ strategythat consists of a focus on developingnew products for new markets in newChronicle file photothe company held an open house last fall, 7th DistrictU.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., was one of theguest speakers. Both Peterson and Klobuchar citedMiller Manufacturing for its efforts to improve thelocal economy.channels through a balance of both organicgrowth and acquisition,” Lenz said.Miller Manufacturing took advantageof the state’s JOBZ program when it firstarrived in Glencoe in 2005 and mergedseveral of its other Minnesota and Wisconsinplant operations into the formerNordicTrack facility. The facility hadbeen vacant for a decade.The JOBZ program required the additionof 11 full-time employees to MillerManufacturing’s work force. It added 61.JOBZ required those jobs be paid atleast $10.23. The pay is $12.30 now.JOBZ required the company invest$3.2 million in the former Nordic Trackfacility. Instead, the company invested $4million by the end of 2006, and has continuedto invest ever since.Miller Manufacturing also had addednew products through purchases of othercompanies.On Oct. 31, 2011, Miller Manufacturing’ssister company, Springer Magrath,relocated to the Glencoe facility fromMcCook, Neb., and became a division ofMiller Manufacturing. “This added nearly20 new jobs to our facility,” Lenz said.On Jan. 31, 2012, Miller Manufacturingacquired the Farm Store division ofDouble L Group, Ltd., in Dyersville,Iowa, “adding nearly 10 new jobs to ourfacility,” Lenz said.In September 2013, the company willadd a plastic injection molding machineto the Glencoe facility bringing in nearly10 new positions, Lenz said.On Feb. 15, construction of a 24,000-square-foot warehouse, located on thesouth end of the building, was completed.It brought the total size of Glencoe’sfacility to 310,000 square feet.In the spring of 2013, Lenz said plansare to add an additional 60,000-squarefootwarehouse space on the northwestside of the building bringing the total sizeof our facility to 370,000 square feet.In the future, Lenz said, an additional40,000-square-foot warehouse space onthe northwest side of the building willbring the total size of the facility to410,000 square feet.