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NEW ULM -- As of late 2020, Windings had officially consolidated all New Ulm locations at a single building on Somsen Street.
Windings have over 50 years of history in New Ulm and until recently the company was spread across multiple buildings.
Vice President of Operations Rudolf Stanglmaier said they had facilities on Valley Street, Front Street and third location. In 2019, the company started implementing plans to move into the former Elkay building on Somsen Street and by October 2020 the move was complete. There is a satellite operation in Eden Prairie for sales and marketing. All other operations are now housed under one roof.
"It has really improved communication," Stanglmaier said. "It made it a lot easier for our engineering department, sales department and quality department to be there on the production floor and see every day what is happening."
Windings' new building is located in the former Elkay building. Stanglmaier said the building had to be completely remodeled. Only the walls and floor were left standing and a new addition was put on the side.
Windings own additional land near the new building and could expand further when needed. "The next expansion will not be as complex as the last," Stanglmaier said.
Elkay previously made wood products and had no climate control. The components built at Windings require a specific environment. The space needed to be clean and a new air conditioning and heating system were added.
Stanglmaier said one of the great stories about repurposing the Elkay building is some of the previous Elkay employees were re-hired as Windings employees. Even these employees are surprised by the level of change.
Stanglmaier feels the move has changed the image of the company. "We now feel like we have a building that represents the type of company that we are for quality and forwards looking," he said.
Before moving to a single location, it was difficult to have guests tour the facility. Windings are excited for the COVID-19 pandemic to end to show off the facility.
All businesses were impacted by COVID-19 in the last year and Windings is no exception. The virus forced the company to take extra precautions. There were losses to production time due to employees being quarantined, but customers and suppliers had the same difficulties.
Stanglmaier said they do see a positive business environment going into 2021. He said the pandemic is not over, but they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Customers are starting to request more products.
Many of Windings' customers are in military and defense and this industry is still going strong. Windings are hiring in the manufacturing and engineering departments to meet this demand.
"We think 2021 is going to be a record year for us," Stanglmaier said.
Stanglmaier said the move to consolidate the business in one building made it possible to expand. Before the move, the company did not have the room or efficiencies to do this level of work. Production can now scale up to meet the demand of customers.
Windings employ around 120 people in a variety of departments. The company has a history of building custom stators, custom rotors and custom motors for all different types of industries; aerospace, auto sports, medical and automation.
Stanglmaier said because many of the products they are currently making are for defense contractors and the purpose of the parts are classified. Windings do not mass produce any single items. Instead, the company produces a small number of a variety of parts.
"Sometimes we make a prototype and never make it again," Stanglmaier said. Usually, the customer has the design for the item to be manufacturing, but Windings needs to figure out the best way to build it.
Stanglmaier said the team atmosphere of Windings is the best part of the company. "At the end of the day we come together to get it done as a team," he said.