Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010 - (Page 42)
Wil-Rich LLC & Wishek MFG LLC
www.wil-rich.com, www.wisheksteel.com / HQ: Wahpeton, N.D. and Wishek, N.D. / Employees: 165 Products: Farm equipment / Mike Bullinger, part-owner: “We met with employees and gave them a challenge.”
wil-rich has been a full-line manufacturer of tillage equipment for more than four decades.
Crucial Tools
wil-rich supplies tools to the nation’ s farmers with a full line of heavy-duty products. by jamie morgan
Wil-Rich LLC provides tools for one of history’s most longstanding professions: farming. It’s a basic, yet crucial element to any nation’s vitality. For four decades, Wil-Rich has been a full-line manufacturer of tillage equipment for corn growers and has been known for heavy-duty equipment that’s made to handle large, high-residue farms. In 1981, the original owners sold Wil-Rich to a company in California. It then switched from one out-of42
manufacturing-today.com SUMMER 2010
state owner to the next, losing sight of its original purpose as it passed through each hand. That is, until 2001, when a group of North Dakota businessmen bought the company and vowed to turn it around. Victor Klosterman, part owner of the company, came to Wil-Rich as general manager, a position he still holds today. Before he stepped in, the company had five separate general managers in a six year span. However, he saw its
potential to be the leading manufacturer it once was. “I saw the opportunity that this company could be very successful,” says Klosterman. “It just needed to go in a little bit different direction than it had been going.” It was bought by Klosterman, who has a farming background as well as engineering and general management experience; along with Mike Bullinger, who brings financial expertise to the company; and Brian and Howard Dahl, whose families have operated two other manufacturing companies in North Dakota. Howard is the company’s export manager, and Brian’s background is in manufacturing. Each owner brought in a different skill but according to
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
Contents
Washington
Global Strategies
Continuous Improvement
Smart Pricing
Supply Chain
Business Value
Moving Forward
Westmark Products
Byrne Dairy
Ultrafryer Systems Inc.
Wil-Rich LLC & Wishek MFG LLC
American Precision Fabricators
Aqua Products Inc.
Bennington
Black Diamond Equipment
Columbian Home Products
Control Devices LLC
Endustra Filter Manufacturers Inc
Heil Trailer International
Assembled Products
Order-Matic Corp.
Professional Building Systems Inc.
Smart Start Inc
Bosal International
Ausco Products Inc.
Brodart Company
Cambrex Corp.
Chapin International Inc.
Cleveland Gear Co.
Consolidated Precision Products
Control Flow Inc.
Douglas Autotech Corp.
Fetzer Architectural Products
The FNA Group
Fourslide Spring and Stamping Inc.
G.A. West & Company
Great Lakes Power Group
Grimm Brothers Plastics
Legends Furniture Inc.
National Tube Supply Co.
Optex Systems Inc.
Sunburst Electronics
V.E. Enterprises Inc
W. Soule & Company
Manufacturing Tomorrow
Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
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