Joel Bauer and Tim Burg have ambitious growth plans for Midsota Manufacturing, which builds commercial and retail trailers. The most obvious manifestation of those plans is their new 30,000 square foot sandblasting, paint, and finishing facility that was completed in the midst of the early March snowstorm. And in the remodel of the welding facility that is currently underway. And in the new office space, also purchased and occupied during the snowstorm.
The two men have owned the company together since 2008. Back then they produced about 600 trailers per year with 18 employees. Today the company produces 2,600 trailers per year and has 110 employees.
After weathering the recession – by cutting hours, not employees – Midsota has experienced steady growth. In addition to expanding their retail and service space, and adding a cold storage warehouse, Midsota added a 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in 2014. “I never thought we’d fill it,” Burg said, “but now, three years later, we were busting at the seams.”
Bauer and Burg are always on the lookout for the next new thing in trailer design. Their goal, according to Bauer, is to arrive at their annual national trailer tradeshow with something new every year. “We pride ourselves on staying on the cutting edge,” he said.