Friends and customers,
Today marks One Year since the catastrophic fire that ravaged our business—One Year since the most challenging day in the history of this company. While the last twelve months began with uncertainty, they held a seed of hope, which has taken root and begun to flourish with vision for the future.
No one is ever prepared to face the difficulty of loss—the destruction of most of our facility, equipment, inventory, offices, papers, and documents—but we picked up the pieces and began pressing forward step by step. From a small group meeting in our home to the restart of our manufacturing operation, none of the actions taken to get this business back on its feet were started without prayer. Prayer for direction, favor, wisdom, and safety. We have been weary, shared tears, and faced obstacles and uncertainty all along the way, but I thank God that today, our company is alive and well.
Approximately 80% of our revenue was previously produced in the space that was lost that day. But our incredible team had the grit and determination to say, “Failure is not an option,” pushing this operation forward to recover over 90% of our pre-fire capacity in the building that was saved. These are undoubtedly close quarters, and our current situation presents many challenges, but reinventing ourselves to become more efficient and more resourceful has been critical to saving this business and providing a template for the future.
It feels like a miracle that we are still operating, let alone operating at these capacities. It’s a miracle that we came out of that fire with no loss of life, with all the necessary pieces remaining to put this picture back together. God was faithful to our prayers in the days following the fire, directing our steps with wisdom and grace to solve this puzzle—placing the corners, forming the borders, and then filling in the details piece by piece, section by section. We still have a few pieces left to place, but the picture gets clearer every day—our miracle in the cornfield.
What began with napkin sketches and handwritten assignments has taken shape as an 87,000-square-foot facility that is nearly completed. Electrical and mechanical systems are being installed, and much of the new equipment is already on site and awaiting installation. This is Phase One—we expect to move into this new space in the latter part of this year with full operation in Q1 of 2024. Phase Two—our new office building—is underway, and we are preparing for Phase Three to begin very soon, adding 14,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space. All told, we are replacing and expanding the 75,000 square feet that we lost with 110,000 square feet—a brand new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and our new home.
We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped us out during the past year. From the courageous first responders, to our dedicated employees, our loyal customers, our trusted suppliers, and our diligent contractors—thank you. With you in our corner and God on our side, we have come farther than any of us thought possible. We are eternally grateful for all that you have done to assist our company. We are rebuilding more resourceful and more resilient—forged through fire and stronger than steel; with great humility and so much to be thankful for.
Stronger Than Steel. Stronger Together.
#westermeyerstrong
God bless you all,
Gary & Teresa Westermeyer