Posted on 03/27/2017 1:16:17 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
HOLSTEIN, Iowa -- With demand for its architectural doors surging, VT Industries officials explored potential expansion sites last year.
The company turned to the small Northwest Iowa city where the third-generation business got its start more than 50 years ago and continues to flourish.
“We looked around the country to decide where we were going to either start up a new plant or add on to one of our existing plants and we really felt like with our workforce here and how well everything’s running here we wanted to keep the facility here in Holstein and expand upon it," said Trisha Schmitt, whose grandfather, Roger Clausen, founded VT Industries in 1956.
“We knew that we're kind of the central hub of the United States and we can get to a lot of areas quickly and we have a well-oiled machine here and we wanted to capitalize on that and invest back into Holstein," Schmitt added.
Schmitt's father, Doug Clausen, became president of VT in 1989 and two of her siblings are also directly involved in the business.
“Our family’s from Holstein originally and my grandfather founded the company here and Holstein is really part of our business and an important part of our success in Northwest Iowa,” said Schmitt, who serves as the company's vice president of corporate marketing.
In October, the manufacturer announced a $21 million expansion of its corporate headquarters and door manufacturing plant on the north edge of Holstein, an Ida County city of about 1,400.
The two-part expansion will provide an additional 85,000-square-feet of door manufacturing space on the north side of the existing plant and create a separate 100,000-square-foot building for its in-house engineering team. (In the meantime, the engineering team is working out of a VT facility in Sac City.)
Construction has begun, and both projects should be completed by the fall and 60 additional manufacturing jobs will be created in Holstein, where the company already employs 610 people. Company-wide, there are 1,540 workers at 12 locations, stretching from California to Quebec, Canada.
Like the family that runs the business, many of VT's employees in Holstein that keep the machine "well-oiled" are multi-generational. Schmitt said the company actively works to retain workers and does a lot of things to create a positive workplace environment, ranging from hosting regular luncheons to recognizing employee tenure to larger scale items such as sending employees on a paid vacation once they reach their 20-year mark.
"We think we're the best in the industry and it's because of our employees who really do take a lot of pride in their work and feel part of the VT family and we really feel like they're part of our family," Schmitt said. "I'm third generation and it's neat to see."
The door manufacturing side of VT focuses on building commercial grade wood interior architectural doors used in hospitals, hotels, office buildings, schools and similar structures.
In its first 50 years of operation, VT’s door division produced 5 million doors between the Holstein plant and a sister facility in San Antonio; however, things ramped up in the last decade and the company assembled its 10 millionth door last July.
Schmitt thinks VT’s reputation for quality doors produced in a short turnaround time — the company ships about 15,000 doors a week out of Holstein — was the spark plug for the increased demand on that side of the business.
“Our reputation — we’re taking market share from our competitors — but also just the whole market has come back and we are seeing that there’s more door openings in the marketplace and our lead times really set us apart from the competition.
“We’re holding our two to three week lead time, which we have for seven years, and a lot of our competition is out seven, eight weeks, so that really gives us an advantage.”
A fact Schmitt finds fascinating about the door division is it only began after a countertop customer asked her grandfather if he would be interested in making doors, which kickstarted the process.
Despite the runaway success of its door division, Schmitt noted the countertop side of company still accounts for most of the business. In February, the company recognized its plant in Sac City as its 2016 "Countertop Plant of the Year.”
VT acts as a direct countertop supplier to Home Depot and Lowe’s, the two largest home improvement retailers in the U.S.
Between producing its 10 millionth door and the expansion announcement, Schmitt, 35, considers 2016 to be the best year in the dozen she’s worked at the family business.
“I really enjoy working with my dad and brothers — both of my brothers are involved in the business as well," she said. "I just like the passion of everyone here at VT and I think it’s the most exciting time that I’ve ever worked here to work here because of all the growth and opportunities and advancements.”
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Fun facts about VT Industries
•The company was started by Roger Clausen in Holstein, Iowa, in 1956 and had one employee originally. Today, the company has more than 1,500 workers.
•VT remains in control of the Clausen family and three third-generation family members are currently employed there as is company president and CEO, Doug Clausen, who represents the second-generation.
•VT's campus in Holstein covers 40 acres.
•More than 700,000 doors come out of the Holstein plant alone on an annual basis.
•Doors produced by VT travel an average of 45,000 miles a week.
•All nine of VT's countertop facilities use about 153,000 gallons of white glue per year.
Just curious how did VT get its name?
Nice..Another win...
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