It\u2019s the eve of a significant milestone for Millerbernd Manufacturing Company (Millerbernd), a heavy metal fabricating company located in Winsted, Minnesota. Founded in 1933, the company is set to celebrate 90 years of operation next year \u2013 a period in which it has forged a reputation throughout the industry for service quality, product quality, delivery, and cost.<\/p>\n
Within Millerbernd, business broadly falls into two distinct units. The first, known as the company\u2019s transportation unit, includes standard, custom, and innovative light poles and traffic signal structures for customers working with US Departments of Transportation. Operating across 37 states, each with varying design criteria and calculations, Millerbernd\u2019s professional engineering delivers products specified to individual markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe provide support from design, all the way through fabrication and delivery to site,\u201d comments Isaac Marceau, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Millerbernd\u2019s transportation unit. \u201cOur focus on DoT gives us a deep understanding of our markets. We believe our products offer strong value relative to our competitors, and we focus on product specifications, customer service, and fulfilling our promises to our customers.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGoverning agencies are continually updating their criteria, which means states are always in the process of updating their products,\u201d he adds. \u201cLikewise, high-wind-speed states will have different requirements to those further inland. Therefore, we\u2019ll work closely with DoT engineers on new designs, giving our input for ease of manufacturability, in order to maximize our own productivity for their specific location.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second of Millerbernd\u2019s business units encompasses rolled rings and cylinders, and accessory components for Tier 1, Tier 2, and OEM manufacturing companies. Ben Ostarello, Director of Sales for the unit, outlines its three distinguishing qualities amid a competitive field.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, we deliver scalable solutions; mill through delivery, partnering directly with mills where needed to get the best price and best product for our customers,\u201d he comments. \u201cMany of our customers don\u2019t really understand our own material requirements, whether its cross-sectional size, available grades, or more economical mill runs. We partner with OEMs to help them understand what\u2019s best for their application.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond, we focus on our core markets: construction equipment, defense, power generation, HVAC, and wind towers,\u201d Ben continues. \u201cThird, we offer flash-weld rings and cylinders, which deliver a stronger weld than standard processes, without filler material, at a fraction of the price. We also explore ways to improve efficiency and eliminate waste for our OEM customers, providing them cost savings over more common manufacturing methods. Most of our customers conduct their own design work in-house, and then come to us with a finished product. We help them to tweak those designs, thereby establishing long-term win-win relationships within our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like all industries, manufacturing was rocked by the arrival of Covid-19 in 2020, as global supply chains ground to a halt. But amid the chaos, Millerbernd quietly went about its business. In 2021, the company opened a state-of-the-art 110,000-square-foot facility at its Winsted site, which now houses its ring and cylinder division. The addition brings Millerbernd\u2019s total manufacturing footprint to 600,000 square feet, provides a further 10,000 square feet of office facilities, and frees up previously occupied space on the factory floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this latest addition, we have all of our machining, forming, and welding services under one roof,\u201d Ben comments. \u201cThe move has also allowed us to invest in new equipment, including a new robotic mega turn cell, a robotic Samsung machining center, a robotic grinding cell, and a new 13-foot wide Davi four-roll plate roller. This will help us to build additional capacity for our OEM business partners. We also have relative flexibility to further expand the building as our needs evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Comments from both Isaac and Ben are a showcase for Millerbernd\u2019s customer-oriented approach to business. But the company places an equal emphasis on those within the business. \u201cBeginning with our CEO, Trevor Millerbernd, and extending throughout our senior leadership team, we work well together, check our egos at the door, and live out our core values,\u201d Isaac reflects. \u201cThe result is a united set of colleagues, all of whom adopt a positive, solution-driven attitude. As a company, we do our best to repay that. Among a number of cultural evolutions in recent years, we\u2019ve put a renewed focus on safety, and we\u2019re proud to say that we\u2019ve achieved a 25 percent decrease in incidents year over year.\u201d<\/p>\n
From 275 employees in 2018, Millerbernd has since grown its staff contingent to approximately 470 individuals. It\u2019s a trend that\u2019s bolstered in part by an uptick in longevity post-pandemic, as employees put greater stock in job stability. Across the next six months, the goal at Millerbernd is to maintain its current trajectory, with a view to introducing another working shift within its transportation unit. \u201cOur passion is proudly growing a safe and secure company,\u201d Isaac insists. \u201cAt Millerbernd, we all believe that growth has to be healthy growth, aligned with our core markets, our manufacturing niche, and our market strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin our DoT unit, there is strong demand,\u201d he concludes. \u201cA current shortage of contractors within the field is naturally causing a few delays, but there remains a large volume of available work. In light of some of the infrastructure legislation passed within the last eight months, we anticipate another strong half-decade run.\u201d<\/p>\n