Progress & Industry: Industrial developments
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
A Brandon Development Foundation ribbon cutting Nov. 16 marked the opening of Phase 1 of Rovang Industrial Park. Pictured are Paul VanDeBerg, Barb Fish, Jay Buchholz, Steve Kolbeck, Tim Jorgenson, Chuck Parson, Dennis Olson, George Gulson, Dan Karsky and Kim Cerwick. Jill Meier/File photo
Brandon Valley Area Chamber celebrated the opening of FlexIt Hydraulics in November. FlexIt CEO Chad Hasert (center) cuts the ribbon, surrounded by staff (from left) Na Versteeg, Amber Bult, Chris Swier, Hasert, Mary Meyer, Royal Hanson, Ron Konrad and Kathy Rozeboom. The company, which manufactures hydraulic hoses, is located in the Corson Development Park at 616 E. Willow.
BJM Enterprises partners Eric Van Grootheest and Mark Rozeboom stand outside of their new shop, which opened August 2018 in the BJM Industrial Park in Valley Springs. Not pictured: Burdell Jansma.
Rovang Industrial Park: ‘Bring on the development!’
A ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 16 officially opened Phase I of the Rovang Industrial Park in Brandon.
With infrastructure in place and street construction completed, the first 53 acres of Rovang sites are ready for development.
The development park boasts 80 acres, with planned rail access and proximity to the I-90 interchange in a location adjacent to the Brandon and Corson development parks.
In addition to being designated a South Dakota Certified Ready Site, Brandon has a history of adding new development parks to meet the needs of expanding and relocating companies.
“This is Brandon’s sixth industrial development park,” said Dennis Olson, vice president of the Brandon Development Foundation. “Since 1983, we’ve added significantly to available industrial land in Brandon and we now have 430 acres in our parks. During that time, Brandon has added 1,400 new primary jobs and increased assessable property by nearly $60 million.”
Rovang Industrial Park will provide the community with new options in a location that has proven itself as a site for growing companies, said Nick Fosheim, executive director of the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.
“Brandon has long understood that opportunities for growth often depend on available land,” Fosheim said. “The development parks adjacent to the new Rovang property have filled rapidly, and there is still demand for sites in the Brandon area. The Brandon Development Foundation is determined to do what it takes to keep their community growing.”
“Industrial parks are the engine that adds rooftops to the community and funds school and industry for the community, and that doesn’t happen overnight,” said Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky.
BDF president George Gulson thanked Olson for his tenacity in working with landowners Ordell and Joyce Rovang.
“Brandon’s only going to grow, and we’re here for them,” Gulson said. “Bring on the development!”
FlexIt USA opens first US facility in Brandon’s Corson Industrial Park
Flexit USA’s first domestic facility opened in Brandon’s Corson Industrial Park in October.
The firm, which has locations in Finland, Germany, Italy and Sweden, produces hydraulic hose assemblies for the agricultural and turf management industries.
“Anything from tractors to combines, front-end loaders to turf care equipment, anything to do with golf courses as far as the green mowers,” said CEO Chad Hasert.
Flexit USA’s clients are strictly OEM (original equipment manufacturers), he said.
“They’re designing the equipment along with our assistance, and we’re basically building it to their print,” Haset explained. “From us, it goes straight to their factory where it gets installed on a piece of equipment.”
He spent 11 months turning Flexit USA from an idea on paper into a full-fledged facility that is now operating in 15,000 square feet of a 30,000-square-foot facility in the Corson Industrial Park at 616 E. Willow, Ste. B.
The company began operation with a staff of 15 – four administrators, and 11 on the production floor. Hasert hopes to add a third shift by March of 2019 and expand staff to more than 40.
BJM Enterprises sets up shop in Valley Springs
Just as it has for decades, business is booming at BJM Enterprises.
But its “boom” is bigger than ever since the diesel mechanic business made its move across the border last year from Minnesota to the BJM Industrial Park in Valley Springs.
The move, said Mark Rozeboom, one of three BJM partners, was necessary for the business to step up to the next level.
“We needed to expand, we knew that,” he said. “Now we’re in a building over twice the size of what we were in, and that should allow us to grow the way we envisioned it to grow.”
In August, Rozeboom and his partners – Burdell Jansma and Eric Van Grootheest – showed off their new facility at 48774 262nd Ave. with an open house that drew 400 people.
“We had the biggest turnout we’ve ever had,” Rozeboom said. “We had guys come from 150 miles away that came here just to see the building and the new location.”
Their guests were likely impressed with the size of the structure and its multiple doors.
The expanded shop can accommodate up to a dozen projects at one time, which was not possible at their former location.
With the addition of BMJ Enterprises, the city of Valley Springs expects to see a boost in their sales and property tax dollars.
“Hopefully they will see a few more tax dollars roll in and that it will help the city do things they need to do,” Rozeboom said. “Hopefully it will start the conversations going of trying to get more businesses like us out here … that are going to be good for the community and can offer a few jobs here and there.”
