UPCOMING TRAINING EVENTS

1

New Supervisor & Manager Skills Workshop

Employees join companies but leave managers. Invest in your new supervisors and managers and equip them with the skills they need to transition into a leadership role and manage teams effectively.

DATE: Feb. 23rd

2 Save the Date: National Agriculture Week

Mark your calendar for an exciting week of training and events centered around food and agriculture in south-central Minnesota.

3

DATE: March 21st – 27th

2023 Health and Biomedical Sciences Summit

Health inequities are pervasive in our communities, particularly in rural areas where access to care and resources is limited. Join us in recognizing the need for improved and interconnected services, and gain tools for eliminating health inequities in our communities.

DATE: March 29th

DEVELOPING LEADERS | MEETING INDUSTRY

TO SIGN UP, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://link.mnsu.edu/courses-and-programs

Sessions are offered in virtual and in-person settings. Please visit our registration site for details on a specific program. 424 North Riverfront Drive, Mankato, MN Phone: 507-389-1094

NEEDS

There is something special about a business that has stood the test of time. For more than fifty years, Herman Manufacturing has remained a family-owned and family-run business. In a time when corporate mergers and buy-outs seem to be the norm, this hometown business continues to flourish after years of flying under the radar in the community of Wells, Minnesota. What makes this business exceptional are its underlying values of family, community, employee satisfaction and customer service.

Herman Manufacturing Co., Inc. started on the farm of John Francis Herman in 1971. The part-time business consisted of the production of snow blowers for tractors and hog gates.

“It was just winter work for him,” said John Paul Herman of Herman Manufacturing. John Francis was primarily a farmer but started his side business with the basic understanding of manufacturing he carried with him after building mini-bikes and snowmobiles for a time at Herter’s Outdoor Goods in New Richland.

John Paul (JP) left Wells as a young man to work in a machine shop in Minneapolis for a couple of years, where he helped to build many machine parts, including parts for the first Pringles Potato Chip machines.

“After a couple of years, I figured if the guy I worked for could do it, so could I,” JP said. “At the ripe old age of 21, I ventured off to start my own manufacturing business.”

JP returned to Wells, and in 1978 he transformed his father’s small side business into a contract machining and welding company. What he initially thought would be a one-person shop grew quickly. The need for his services soon outweighed his solo abilities, so after six years in business, he recruited his brother, Mark Herman, to help him run and develop his business further.

Fast-forward to 2023. Herman Manufacturing now has 44 years as a custom manufacturer under its belt and has made a name for itself doing specialized contract work for a wide variety of companies.

“We predominantly work with companies that are building machines that are not going to be used in-house,” JP said. “They are going to sell it to somebody who makes a product.”

For example, these companies may sell a machine that labels pop bottles or fills food trays. Each machine needs frames, pieces, bars, and other components, all of which can be created at Herman Manufacturing.

“A lot of these places do very little machining in-house,” JP said. This is because many types of machining and welding equipment are required to make the different parts of each product. For instance, a bottle labeling machine needs various tooling to label different sizes and bottle configurations. So, it’s more cost-efficient to hire an external manufacturing company to provide machining and welding services.

The products created at Herman Manufacturing are used predominantly in the Upper Midwest; however, custom items ship to customers all over the country, and even the world. These customers send Herman Manufacturing detailed blueprints or Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings detailing the specifications for the part they need. Machinists and welders fill custom orders using manual machines and Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machines. CNC machines are utilized specifically for complex pieces and cuts.

“When I joined the company, we had five employees,” Mark said. “I wanted to join the family business and help it grow.”

And grow, they have. As the business evolved, it needed more space to house new machining and welding equipment, some of which is large enough to build a car. So whenever a building became available in Wells, the Hermans acquired it and expanded their enterprise further. Today, Herman Manufacturing has grown from one shed on John Francis’ farm to seven shops in and around Wells.

Along with its expanding physical space, the demand for Herman Manufacturing’s services has required many more people to join the team. The total number is now approximately 50 full-time and part-time employees. Together, the Herman team builds a diverse product line customized to meet their customers’ needs.

“We make everything from parts for doors that go on an airplane hangar down to pieces you can hold in the palm of your hand and everything in between,” JP said.

Over the years, Herman Manufacturing products have included specialty tools for space shuttle fuel tanks, awnings for race car trailers, parts for food machines, parts for food packaging, parts and components for doors and computer chips.

JP puts the technology into the layman’s perspective.

Over the decades, JP has seen many changes in the business world. Perhaps Herman Manufacturing’s steadfast values have allowed it to stay the course while other companies succumbed to sales, mergers and the like.

“I’ve seen a lot of businesses around that get sold and aren’t run the same way. They have changed dynamics incredibly,” JP said.

Even with all these changes, the strong relationships built by JP, Mark, and the team have prevailed. Although business names and owners have changed through the years, Herman Manufacturing still has customers today that started back with them in 1978.

“I have several companies that I started with right at the very beginning making parts for, but none of them are owned by the same people or same corporations,” JP said.

“Word of mouth is our best advertising,” chief financial officer Cindy Herman said. “Our partners continue to send work to Herman even if they change companies.”

Many manufacturing companies limit their business to specific industries, such as agriculture or automotive, but Herman Manufacturing has found success in diversification. It works with approximately 30 businesses in varying industries. In addition, they have diversified even more by customizing their services.

“We have our eggs in a whole lot of baskets,” Cindy said.

This business model has kept the business safe during trying