Regal celebrates 40 years of production in Cassville
September 30, 2015
Charlea Mills
This year marks a big milestone for a long-running Cassville business. Regal is celebrating 40 years in Cassville, and they are inviting the community to come out, learn more about the factory and participate in music and fun to mark the occasion.
FASCO, a factory that manufactured blowers and parts for heating and air units, announced their decision to open a factory in Cassville in April 1974 with the intention to open their doors in March 1975 with around 50 employees. FASCO was acquired by Regal in 2007.
When FASCO announced their intention to move to Cassville, multiple entities worked together to get the factory to its location on Sale Barn Road in Cassville. Regal required 50 acres of land to build their 150,000 square foot building on, so the Industrial Development Corporation and the Cassville Chamber of Commerce worked to raise the $50,000 price tag on a 46-acre tract of land. Within two weeks, the two had managed to raise $47,000, and the additional four acres of adjacent land were donated by owner Royle Ellis.
On May 21, 1974, the City of Cassville voted to approve a $3 million bond for FASCO to build the plant. Ground breaking on the plant took place the next day, on May 22.
Over the following months, residents anxiously awaited the opening of the factory. Helicopters were brought in from St. Louis to airlift equipment into the factory and a Labor Survey elicited over 1,4000 applications of potential employees.
When the factory first opened, 40 employees sent out the first shipment on July 3, 1975. Over the years, Regal expanded to upwards of 1,000 employees before some of their operations moved to Mexico. Currently, Regal has two sister factories in Mexico that purchase the majority of their parts for assembly there, according to plant manager Mike Atwood.
While many manufacturing plants have not endured the test of time, Regal has. Today, the plant has around 325 full-time employees in the various positions on two different shifts. Atwood attributes their success to a few different factors.
He said, “The keys to being around this long were product development and our people.” He went on, “In the 80’s, we made a drafting booster which made gas heating much more efficient. That’s what really caused us to grow like we did. With efficiency improvements, you don’t only help efficiency, but you also keep costs down on the final product, which the customer likes.”
Another big part of the plant’s success he attributes to employees. The average seniority of Regal employees is 17 to 18 years, an impressive record. He said, “We’re very customer-focused and make sure that they get exactly what they want when they want it. That’s thanks to the dedication of our employees. We have well experienced people, and it’s a good place to make a living with competitive pay and good benefits.”
There is no denying that the factory has changed over the years and employees have dropped, mostly because of the transition to assembly in the Mexican factories. However, they still manufacture a variety of parts and 3,500 blowers each day.
The blowers and parts manufactured at the Cassville plant are all custom-made for their customers. Walking through their engineering department and testing facilities is impressive, to say the least. A lot of work goes into each piece of equipment that leaves the factory’s door. A long hallway displays all of the plaques for awards Regal employees have won over the years for their innovations.
This Saturday, the factory will open up their operation to welcome the community in and show what it is that they do. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.
The day begins at 10 a.m. with a welcome and special presentation. Tours will be available until 2 p.m. along with horseshoes, a bean bag toss and a bounce house. Lunch will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and bands include Final Destination and Ozark Mountain Revival.
Charlea Mills
This year marks a big milestone for a long-running Cassville business. Regal is celebrating 40 years in Cassville, and they are inviting the community to come out, learn more about the factory and participate in music and fun to mark the occasion.
FASCO, a factory that manufactured blowers and parts for heating and air units, announced their decision to open a factory in Cassville in April 1974 with the intention to open their doors in March 1975 with around 50 employees. FASCO was acquired by Regal in 2007.
When FASCO announced their intention to move to Cassville, multiple entities worked together to get the factory to its location on Sale Barn Road in Cassville. Regal required 50 acres of land to build their 150,000 square foot building on, so the Industrial Development Corporation and the Cassville Chamber of Commerce worked to raise the $50,000 price tag on a 46-acre tract of land. Within two weeks, the two had managed to raise $47,000, and the additional four acres of adjacent land were donated by owner Royle Ellis.
On May 21, 1974, the City of Cassville voted to approve a $3 million bond for FASCO to build the plant. Ground breaking on the plant took place the next day, on May 22.
Over the following months, residents anxiously awaited the opening of the factory. Helicopters were brought in from St. Louis to airlift equipment into the factory and a Labor Survey elicited over 1,4000 applications of potential employees.
When the factory first opened, 40 employees sent out the first shipment on July 3, 1975. Over the years, Regal expanded to upwards of 1,000 employees before some of their operations moved to Mexico. Currently, Regal has two sister factories in Mexico that purchase the majority of their parts for assembly there, according to plant manager Mike Atwood.
While many manufacturing plants have not endured the test of time, Regal has. Today, the plant has around 325 full-time employees in the various positions on two different shifts. Atwood attributes their success to a few different factors.
He said, “The keys to being around this long were product development and our people.” He went on, “In the 80’s, we made a drafting booster which made gas heating much more efficient. That’s what really caused us to grow like we did. With efficiency improvements, you don’t only help efficiency, but you also keep costs down on the final product, which the customer likes.”
Another big part of the plant’s success he attributes to employees. The average seniority of Regal employees is 17 to 18 years, an impressive record. He said, “We’re very customer-focused and make sure that they get exactly what they want when they want it. That’s thanks to the dedication of our employees. We have well experienced people, and it’s a good place to make a living with competitive pay and good benefits.”
There is no denying that the factory has changed over the years and employees have dropped, mostly because of the transition to assembly in the Mexican factories. However, they still manufacture a variety of parts and 3,500 blowers each day.
The blowers and parts manufactured at the Cassville plant are all custom-made for their customers. Walking through their engineering department and testing facilities is impressive, to say the least. A lot of work goes into each piece of equipment that leaves the factory’s door. A long hallway displays all of the plaques for awards Regal employees have won over the years for their innovations.
This Saturday, the factory will open up their operation to welcome the community in and show what it is that they do. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.
The day begins at 10 a.m. with a welcome and special presentation. Tours will be available until 2 p.m. along with horseshoes, a bean bag toss and a bounce house. Lunch will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and bands include Final Destination and Ozark Mountain Revival.