Sukup announces another expansion in Hampton

Sukup Manufacturing Co. has announced another acquisition in Hampton to expand their manufacturing capabilities.

The Sheffield-based company announced last week that they have acquired certain assets of Global Fabrication Inc., another agricultural and industrial manufacturing business located in Hampton's industrial park.

"We believe this investment in our manufacturing facilities is a positive sign of continued growth as a company," said Sukup Manufacturing President and CEO Steve Sukup in the announcement release. "Ultimately, our goal is to create products that help farmers feed and fuel the world, and this additional space and personnel is necessary to meet demand."

"Sukup is a trusted employer in North Central Iowa," said Todd Hall of Global Fabrication in the same release. "We appreciate Steve Sukup's leadership through this process, and are confident the employee transition will go smoothly. It's great to know that Global Fab will be part of Sukup's positive impact on the agriculture industry moving forward."

The transition from Global Fabrication to Sukup Manufacturing is already underway at the facility. Many of the existing employees are staying on and, once their current orders are complete, it is expected that they will start producing Sukup orders in May.

"One of our top priorities in this acquisition is to retain many of Global Fab’s current employees," said Sukup. "We look forward to a smooth transition, and adding manufacturing capacity for our material handling products."

The 70,000 sq ft facility will allow Sukup Manufacturing to double their capacity to produce catwalks, towers, and other structural products. The company has been on the lookout for expansion opportunities to meet their increased demand and they seized the chance at acquiring a new location so close to their Sheffield headquarters.

"Just being strategically close to our home base helps with production of products for our current lines," said Emily Schmitt, Sukup Manufacturing's general council.

The acquisition of Global Fabrication is the second expansion into Hampton that the company has made this year. In January, the company opened its first major manufacturing expansion when it acquired a 30,000 sq ft facility to be used for producing parts for their bin lines.

Having two facilities in Hampton's industrial park was not intentionally planned, but the happy coincidence has opened up possible avenues of synergy between the two buildings and eased some of the transition pains due to already having transportation routes between Sheffield and Hampton.

"Adding another building was already within our logistic flow, so it works out quite well strategically," said Schmitt.