Friends and Customers,
This past year can be summed up in one word—transformation.
A year ago, memories of the fire were still fresh, and rebuilding had only just begun. But as I write this today, I’ve just returned to my desk after a walk through our new building. Let me describe the transformation I see.
Our new manufacturing facility is standing proud on foundations that had only just been poured last November. The weather cooperated all year long, and Phase 1 was finished on schedule. In fact, we’ve already started putting it to use—the new paint booths are up and running, and our state-of-the-art laser tube cutter made its first cuts last week. New space, new equipment, and new automation are all parts of the transformation.
A year ago today, we moved our office personnel into a modular office building just in time for Thanksgiving. That temporary office is feeling increasingly “temporary” every day now, as Phase 2 (our NEW office building) approaches completion. With an expected move-in date of February 1st, this will be a welcome transformation for our office staff. And behind the Phase 1 building, Phase 3 is now underway—an additional 14,000 sq. ft. of flexible manufacturing space that will allow our business to continue its transformation into the future.
The most significant transformation has been in how we work. After losing much of our facility, equipment, and inventory, our team learned to work differently. We stood this business back up in a matter of weeks, in a fraction of the space, transforming our methods as well as our mindset. We learned to make better use of the tools available, working smarter *and* harder to keep this business moving forward. As we begin to occupy our new facilities, these lessons learned in adversity open up tremendous opportunity—to transform this business far beyond what we could have achieved before.
Every day, we are getting closer to the end of this chapter of transformation. We’ll see new equipment starting up, lead times coming down, and investments in automation yielding more capacity, greater capability, and securing our position for the future. In a year that could have been our worst, I am happy to report that we have risen above every challenge that has come our way. This is a testament to our incredible team and God’s unfailing favor, and I believe our best days still lie ahead.
As we reflect on all of this, we are extremely thankful. For God’s guiding hand. For a team that rose to the occasion. For customers who stuck with us, suppliers who came through, and contractors who kept working to make our new facility a reality. We are thankful for the nation and community we are blessed to call home and look forward to celebrating with gratitude this weekend.
May your Thanksgiving holiday season be filled with health and happiness.
Thank you, and God bless you all,
Gary & Teresa Westermeyer