Nearly one year ago, an EF3 tornado ripped through the Vermeer mile, destroying two plants and damaging other parts of campus. Vermeer celebrated the company’s recovery from the storm and the potential the future holds at a special commemoration event Friday morning.
Leadership from Vermeer shared stories from July 19th, 2018, and the transformation of the Vermeer mile and growth of the company since then. A new facility, nearly 500,000 square feet in size, will replace the area where Plants 5 and 6 previously stood — which were officially retired by CEO and President Jason Andringa, and the new Plant 7 will open in Fall 2020. Andringa says the company remains rooted in Pella, and is excited for the new facilities coming into operation in the next 16 months.
“Pella is definitely our headquarters–there’s no doubt about it,” he says. “The vast majority of our team members are based here in Pella. The response from the community was overwhelming, with the response of our other local companies–Pella Corp, Pella Regional, first responders, and really everyone in the local community and surrounding communities…it was absolutely, overwhelmingly humbling and appreciated.”
“I said it the first night (after the storm), once I knew our people were safe, I knew we would rebuild better and stronger than ever before, right here in Pella. I was 100 percent sure of that–not 99 percent sure. Our headquarters has been here for 71 years and the generations of incredible team members that have worked at this company from this location is incredible, and we wouldn’t want to be located anywhere other than right where we are at. ”
Additionally, Shop 48–an innovation center created in honor of Gary Vermeer’s legacy and named after his shop and the first year of the company, will open in September. Shop 48 will combine three engineering shops off-site and move them back to the main campus. It will be responsible for the construction of new prototypes. Ground has also been broken on a new Eco Center facility, which was destroyed in the tornado as well.
“We’re very fortunate at Vermeer to have a 71-year history of innovation. Shop 48 will take our innovation and growth opportunities long into the future,” said President, Industrial Solutions Doug Hundt.
A special statue will be placed in front of the new Plant 7 along Vermeer Road. The design signifies the “retirement” of Plants 5 and 6, as well as damage done to other parts of campus. A beam representing Vermeer Strong is in the center, representing what the future holds, and a quote on the memorial reads “We are certainly going to rebuild. We are going to come back stronger than ever,” which was said by Andringa at a press conference in response to a question asked by Andrew Schneider, Pella News Director for KNIA/KRLS Radio, just hours after the storm hit the Vermeer Mile.
Stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS all this week for special stories and features remembering the one year anniversary of the Vermeer tornado, including Let’s Talk Pella Monday through Thursday.