WASP, Inc. announced this week that the employee-owned company, headquartered in Glenwood, recently purchased FAST Manufacturing, Inc., a producer of high-quality sprayers and liquid fertilizer equipment for the agricultural industry.
The merger, which was finalized on May 18, will increase WASP’s manufacturing capacity by 50 percent in terms of space, machinery and employees, according to Dane Anderson, president and CEO of WASP, Inc.
The partnership between the two companies supports the growth WASP experienced in the past year, as it adds manufacturing space, equipment and skilled employees to help the company meet its customers’ growing equipment demands. Those demands are driven by the expanding needs of airlines, which have returned to profitability, and package delivery companies, which are driven by e-commerce, as well as the inevitable growth that will come in the future for more and better agricultural equipment to feed a growing world, according to a news release from WASP, Inc.
“We were looking to diversify to grow the company but at the same time make it more stable, and this acquisition does all three,” Anderson said last Wednesday “…We were looking to acquire a company in a new market, but with similar technology and that was FAST Manufacturing.”
WASP, Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of nonpowered ground support equipment for the airline and air cargo industry and a leading manufacturer of conveyors for the parcel delivery industry.
According to Anderson, WASP’s team of employee-owners is expected to increase by more than 50 percent by the end of this year to 700 employees, including an expanded night shift already being added to the FAST facility located in Windom, Minn. The merger, which included 200,000 square feet of FAST facility space in both Windom and Mountain Lake, along with a FAST facility in Gillman, Ill. is why the company increased by 500,000 square feet of workspace spread across five facilities in Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois.
In the past year, including this acquisition, WASP invested more than $12 million in large-format metal manufacturing equipment to provide increased capacity and faster turnaround times. Among the new production machines are flat sheet lasers, robotic welders, a tube laser, machining centers, heavy press brakes and a continuous motion, state-of-the-art powder coat paint line. Those machines will enhance both companies’ services and products due to shared technologies and greater overall capacity to quickly meet customers’ needs.
“First and foremost, we see this as a way to strategically combine our two companies to better serve our customers across all the industries in which we work,” Anderson explained. “The synergies that come with our combined production capabilities means we can meet customers’ needs for high-quality GSE, conveyors and agricultural equipment even faster, while continuing to provide our industry-leading levels of quality and service.”
About FAST Manufacturing
FAST Manufacturing was founded in Mountain Lake to provide quality engineered solutions backed by great customer service to farmers. Its products include a pull-type, front mount and three-point sprayers; vertical and side-fold liquid fertilizer applicators; tractor-mounted tanks; nurse trailers; and pasture sprayers.
Verlyn Fast, who started FAST Manufacturing with his wife, Nancy, will continue to be involved with the company for the next few years, focusing on new product design and testing. He said the decision to partner with WASP will provide his employees the benefits of being part of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP.
“We are very proud to sell our company to an employee-owned company like WASP because it was extremely important to us to take care of our employees,” Verlyn Fast said. “We’re excited to partner with WASP, and we feel that both companies are ideally suited for each other,” Fast explained. “Both are headquartered in the heart of the Midwest and take pride in producing the best quality products in our respective industries.
Together, we can be even better and stronger.”
About WASP Inc.
WASP was founded in 1979 and has grown to be the world’s largest manufacturer of non-powered ground support products as well as a leading manufacturer for package conveyors and military trailers. The company is headquartered in Glenwood, and also has a manufacturing facility in Falls City, Neb. Its equipment can be found in 65 countries.
WASP is a 100 percent employee-owned organization that designs and manufactures standard and customized equipment with the lowest total cost of ownership for customers around the world. The company’s employee owners are a driving force behind the quality of its products, dedication to safety and commitment to creating reliable solutions. Its custom industrial design processes, ISO-controlled lean manufacturing practices and premier components ensure WASP equipment is easy to maintain and lasts for years. For more information, call 320-634-5885, visit www.waspinc.com, or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
