Dear Customers,
Five months ago today, on August 26th, I sat on the ground in the evening hours, watching 22 years of hard work smolder. But sitting in the dark after that catastrophic fire, I caught a glimmer of hope, an inner peace, knowing that something greater would rise again from the ashes—that what God had started, he would continue. We would become stronger, better, and different.
The past five months have tested us in every way. We face new challenges daily—some that are common and some that are new. No team is perfect, but we have done our best to get our footing, not only in continuing to run the company, but to rebuild the business as well. We remain grateful for every bit of progress. The Illinois winter has been kind, just as we prayed it would be, allowing work on the new building to carry on. Approximately 30% of the structure is up, and the contractor plans to move to the next 30% soon.
While we may be in the cornfields of the midwest, we are building a world-class facility for the future of our business and our customers. Virtually all of the replacement equipment is on order, with most of these new machines being new technology for new, automated processes. We are doing our best to ship more product every day, but our current working space has filled up. We look forward to the increased speed and capacity that will come with the new building and new equipment later this year.
Over the next six months, many exciting changes will take place. In a short time, the things we have endured will be a fleeting memory, and our eyes are already on the future. Teresa and I, along with our entire team, thank you for your continued trust and patience throughout this process. It is greatly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Gary Westermeyer, President
#westermeyerstrong