Vermeer lost more than 400,000 square feet of manufacturing space when it was hit by an EF3 tornado July 19, 2018. President and CEO Jason Andringa shared that night, “We will certainly rebuild… and we’ll come back stronger than ever.”
Thursday, Dec. 10, the Vermeer team reached another major milestone in that journey – the shipment of the first product fully assembled in the new area of the Plant 7 facility. A D24x40 S3 Navigator® horizontal directional drill destined for one of our many dealerships is the first off the line.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our teams as they’ve continued to adjust throughout the rebuilding process,” stated Jason Andringa. “These teams were directly impacted by the tornado and have worked with agility through those constraints over the past two years as we’ve made significant steps to come back stronger than ever. Now, it’s exciting to see them doing important work in their new space and producing tough yellow iron. We have the strongest team in the world.”
To commemorate this milestone, the team – along with President, Industrial Solutions Doug Hundt – gave the D24x40 S3 HDD a strong send-off after signing their names on the machine. We’re excited to begin shipping products from the new facility and get yet another step closer to coming back stronger than ever.
We will share more updates with the community as we continue to move team members into Plant 7. Due to COVID-19, we cannot offer tours to the public at this time. Please keep an eye on Vermeer social channels to see more peeks inside this state-of-the-art facility.
About Vermeer Corporation
Vermeer delivers a real impact in a progressing world through the manufacture of high-quality agricultural, underground construction, surface mining, tree care and environmental equipment. With a reputation for durability and reliability, that equipment is backed by localized customer service and support provided by independent dealers around the world. To learn more about Vermeer, products, the dealer network and financing options, visit Vermeer.com.