Sully, Iowa based Janco Industries, Inc., the manufacturer of lifts and other workshop products under the Handy brand name, has a new place to call home. After more than 18 months of planning and hard work, the company is happy to finally have all of its employees working together under the same roof.
"In one word, (it feels) overwhelming," said General Manager and owner Joel Jansen, whose company hosted an open-house and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new building in late September.
"To see it come together was very rewarding. The whole team worked together to create this." After acquiring Handy Industries in 2010, Joel and his wife, CFO and Human Resources Manager Deann Jansen, had plans to eventually bring the Handy team from its Marshalltown, Iowa, facility to a new, 50,000-square foot location in Sully, but a fire at the Sully location in January 2014 changed the game plan.
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| Owner Joel Jansen cuts the ribbon while Iowa Governor Terry Branstad looks on |
Instead of operating out of multiple facilities in Sully, the Jansens decided to construct a brand-new, 75,000-square foot facility a few blocks south of the fire-ravaged building. Groundbreaking for the new facility occurred on May 14, 2014, but above average rainfall during June and July — a total of 50 inches during the two-month span — delayed the build, which was expected to take nine months to complete.
"The process went very well, there were hardly any issues," Joel said. "The only setback was Mother Nature, and there was nothing we could do about that."
Fourteen semi-trucks delivered the 426,000 pounds of steel necessary for construction in August of last year and the first of 14 sections of steel rafters were successfully set in place by September 30. A month later, the building had steel siding and doors, and by January 2015, the entire building was fully enclosed and heat was turned on so that the fitting-out process could continue. The final pieces of the puzzle came together in April and May, and the moving process began for members of the Janco and Handy teams throughout the summer.
"I’m happy to be where we’re at right now," Joel said. "We do have the room for expansion on this site in the future, as soon as we need it."
Janco Industries is a family-owned business, founded more than 40 years ago by Joel’s father, Ron Jansen. The company has grown from fewer than five employees to nearly 50 and currently serves such diverse industries as agriculture, construction and recreation and, since the Handy acquisition, automotive and motorcycle workshop equipment.
www.janco-ind.com
www.handyindustries.com