Excel Industries is making additional improvements to its manufacturing facility in Hesston, Kan. Excel enjoyed a 35% increase in production volume during its fiscal year ending July 31, and anticipates another 50% increase in production for the coming year. In order to accommodate the increased demand on manufacturing, there are several facility improvements and building expansion in process.

Excel recently broke ground on a 12,000 square foot addition to the current whole goods storage area. The new building will include four shipping docks that will be needed to accommodate the increased number of outbound shipments. The new shipping area will allow the current shipping docks to be re-purposed to a new receiving area. Excel purchases all of the engines, transmissions and other highly engineered components that are used in its products, so the increase in production volume will create new in-bound shipping activity.

Improvements have also been implemented in Excel’s powder paint facility. Originally placed in service in 2003, the powder paint application technology has been upgraded and a 30% increase in paint department throughput has been achieved by increasing the line speed. There has also been an improvement in the quality of the powder paint coating being used. The new ‘super-durable’ paint will provide five times the resistance to sun and UV degradation than the former paint coating provided.

Excel has made improvements in its weld operation as well. A dedicated weld trainer has been hired to assure that all welders are using proper weld techniques. There have also been improvements made in welding equipment, machine settings and materials and supplies that have improved both welding speed and finished product quality at the same time.