Wintech plans to open Cassville plant in June
Wintech celebrated the beginning of their move into its Cassville plant with a small gathering of some of the major forces that helped to facilitate the move, along with several members of the Cassville Chamber of Commerce. Pictured above: Isaac Petersen, City of Cassville economic director; Steve Walensky, Cassville city administrator; Wade Hermansen, of Dry Gulch Manufacturing; Jack Williams, president of Wintech; Rachael Selby Freeman, director of the Cassville Chamber of Commerce; Laura Holycross, of Barry Electric Cooperative; Dr. Chad Johnson, of Johnson Chiropractic; and Stan Kelley, of Freedom Bank.
June 5, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Factory work has always been a large part of the economy in Barry County. From George’s on the outskirts of Butterfield, to Regal in Cassville’s industrial district, a large portion of Barry County’s working class has always had options on the factory floor. Now, thanks to the efforts of Wintech, Inc., of Monett, and the industrial development arm of Cassville City Hall, the options for factory work within the county are growing.
Wintech recently made the decision to move one of their manufacturing lines to a facility in Cassville’s industrial district.
The facility, located next to the Cassville Aquatic Center, was previously used for storage by Wintech. According to Wintech president Jack Williams, expanding production demand led the company to set up additional work space in Cassville.
“With the growth we’ve seen in the last couple of years in both product lines and volume, what we needed was more floor space,” said Williams, “We’re very tight up here in Monett. We had that facility in Cassville and saw it as a great opportunity to expand our footprint.”
According to Williams, the facility will begin with one production line and a production staff of roughly 20 people, but the company hopes to expand their production further in the coming years.
“Provided nothing drastic happens with the economy, we would expect to see that grow to 50 to 80 people within the next two to three years,” said Williams.
This move was made possible due to assistance provided by both Barry Electric Cooperative and Cassville’s economic director Isaac Petersen.
According to Williams, Petersen’s predecessor Ron Reed, who was hired by the city in a consulting capacity, had initially contacted the company about their plans with the storage facility.
“When they first started the economic development group in Cassville, [Ron Reed] asked myself and Jason Hunt, our vice president, out to lunch,” said Williams. “We started discussing some of the opportunities that they had, knowing that we already had the building in Cassville, and he wanted to get an idea for what our plans were with the building and how they could help.”
According to Petersen, after he took on the role in January, he began to network and facilitate relationships with Wintech, the City of Cassville, and several other private entities in order to foster a relationship with the business.
In those conversations, it was eventually determined that, if Wintech were to move production into the storage space, several improvements would need to be made in the interest of safety.
“It’s a really fantastic facility. It needed a little work, and that’s where the loan came in,” said Williams.
In order to bring in new lighting and several other minor changes to the facility, Petersen determined that the best option for all involved would be what’s called a REDLG (Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant).
This program, made available through the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), provides funds to local businesses by leveraging loans through a utility cooperative. Once an application is submitted and approved, the associated cooperative gives a zero-interest loan to the business in question, who then agrees to pay the loan back in installments over time.
“In order to use it, it’s required that a co-op be involved,” said Petersen. “Barry Electric Co-op was willing to do that for the community.”
Petersen went on to explain how these loans are specifically engineered to bring work to towns like Cassville.
“They’re targeted at rural communities with a population of under 50,000, specifically in manufacturing and agriculture to strengthen those communities,” said Petersen.
Wintech began the process of changing the building to suit its needs with the new crop of employees expected to begin on June 20. The first windows at the new facility are expected to be complete by June 24.
Williams expressed his hopes for the facility, explaining that he sees the move as both a positive one for the company as well as the town.
“We’re really excited about Cassville,” said Williams. “We understand that there’s a pretty strong labor pool that is currently driving out of Cassville. Hopefully, we can capture some of that and give them a place to work in the town.” ,
Vinnie Roberts
Factory work has always been a large part of the economy in Barry County. From George’s on the outskirts of Butterfield, to Regal in Cassville’s industrial district, a large portion of Barry County’s working class has always had options on the factory floor. Now, thanks to the efforts of Wintech, Inc., of Monett, and the industrial development arm of Cassville City Hall, the options for factory work within the county are growing.
Wintech recently made the decision to move one of their manufacturing lines to a facility in Cassville’s industrial district.
The facility, located next to the Cassville Aquatic Center, was previously used for storage by Wintech. According to Wintech president Jack Williams, expanding production demand led the company to set up additional work space in Cassville.
“With the growth we’ve seen in the last couple of years in both product lines and volume, what we needed was more floor space,” said Williams, “We’re very tight up here in Monett. We had that facility in Cassville and saw it as a great opportunity to expand our footprint.”
According to Williams, the facility will begin with one production line and a production staff of roughly 20 people, but the company hopes to expand their production further in the coming years.
“Provided nothing drastic happens with the economy, we would expect to see that grow to 50 to 80 people within the next two to three years,” said Williams.
This move was made possible due to assistance provided by both Barry Electric Cooperative and Cassville’s economic director Isaac Petersen.
According to Williams, Petersen’s predecessor Ron Reed, who was hired by the city in a consulting capacity, had initially contacted the company about their plans with the storage facility.
“When they first started the economic development group in Cassville, [Ron Reed] asked myself and Jason Hunt, our vice president, out to lunch,” said Williams. “We started discussing some of the opportunities that they had, knowing that we already had the building in Cassville, and he wanted to get an idea for what our plans were with the building and how they could help.”
According to Petersen, after he took on the role in January, he began to network and facilitate relationships with Wintech, the City of Cassville, and several other private entities in order to foster a relationship with the business.
In those conversations, it was eventually determined that, if Wintech were to move production into the storage space, several improvements would need to be made in the interest of safety.
“It’s a really fantastic facility. It needed a little work, and that’s where the loan came in,” said Williams.
In order to bring in new lighting and several other minor changes to the facility, Petersen determined that the best option for all involved would be what’s called a REDLG (Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant).
This program, made available through the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), provides funds to local businesses by leveraging loans through a utility cooperative. Once an application is submitted and approved, the associated cooperative gives a zero-interest loan to the business in question, who then agrees to pay the loan back in installments over time.
“In order to use it, it’s required that a co-op be involved,” said Petersen. “Barry Electric Co-op was willing to do that for the community.”
Petersen went on to explain how these loans are specifically engineered to bring work to towns like Cassville.
“They’re targeted at rural communities with a population of under 50,000, specifically in manufacturing and agriculture to strengthen those communities,” said Petersen.
Wintech began the process of changing the building to suit its needs with the new crop of employees expected to begin on June 20. The first windows at the new facility are expected to be complete by June 24.
Williams expressed his hopes for the facility, explaining that he sees the move as both a positive one for the company as well as the town.
“We’re really excited about Cassville,” said Williams. “We understand that there’s a pretty strong labor pool that is currently driving out of Cassville. Hopefully, we can capture some of that and give them a place to work in the town.” ,
