Winchester News-Gazette, June 2008

Applegate Livestock Equipment's to Union City is moving right along, as evidenced by Thursday's arrival of four truckloads of machinery. A fixture in Saratoga for many decades, Applegate became a division of Ag Growth Industries, a Canadian company, in January.

Aaron Applegate, sales manager, said the move has progressed very well since the company was acquired by Ag Growth.

He added, "We could not have hand-picked a better match for Applegate than Ag Growth. They have been excellent to work with, and they provide us with resources and knowledge to grow the Applegate Company and brand name. They are a very reputable and exciting company to be part of."

Ag Growth has put in a "lot of resources and capital," Applegate said.

The Applegate move should be completed by the first of August. The company will be manufacturing its entire product line at the Union City facility, along with manufacturing some new product lines for its Canadian affiliates.

Traditionally employing between 70 and 90 people in Saratoga, the company expects to add 15 to 30 new employees when the move to Union City is completed.

The move to the building that formerly housed Union City Body Company will help Applegate be more competitive in the industry by putting all of the company's operations under one roof. In Saratoga, the operations were scattered among several buildings, none of which were large enough to do some of the things that will be possible in the Union City building.

Another positive is that Applegate now will be able to do its own surface finishing for all its products. In the past, Applegate has always had to outsource its products for powder coating because of their size. Now Applegate will be able to improve its finish and have complete quality-control over the appearance of its products.

Kendzor Machinery Sales of Pittston, Pa. is installing a new powder coat system at the Union City location, an installation that will expand Applegate's opportunities. The company will be able to do powder-coating jobs for other area companies that currently have to send their products away for powder coating.

The washing and drying equipment attached to the power coating apparatus is in two long automated lines of 120 feet and 200 feet.

"It's amazing how quickly they put this operation together," Applegate said.

The company has continued manufacturing products in Saratoga while the move to Union City is underway. With the goal of no interruption in its supply of product to its customers, Applegate built up its inventory.

Engineers from Ag Growth mapped out the entire facility and labeled each piece of equipment to design the most efficient flow. Applegate expects to use all of the 160,000 square-foot building for its operations.

The company is also expecting future growth that might involve adding additional buildings to the 46 acres purchased by Ag Growth. Applegate also anticipates doing work, in addition to powder coating, for other local manufacturers.

The move from Saratoga involves some nostalgia. Applegate took over the properties once used by Campbells to process tomatoes.

"The Saratoga community has been great to work with over the years," Applegate said. "But we have outgrown the Saratoga facility. The move to Union City will open up more opportunities for the company and its employees and the community."

Applegate invoked the memory of his father, the late Richard Applegate, who founded the company in 1955 in his barn. He said, "My father would have been excited by the new facility and the fact that it is in his hometown of Union City. He also would have been eager to see us secure a partner like Ag Growth Industries. It's a company with high integrity and is community-minded. Ag Growth is going to be good for Union City and for Randolph County."

Applegate said he was thankful for the work that Greg Beumer, the county's economic development director, and Rob Lykins, president of Productive Concepts Inc., did in bringing Ag Growth to Union City.

Ag Growth is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owns and operates several ag-related manufacturing divisions throughout Canada and the United States. Duane Brim is the general manager of Applegate Livestock Equipment, Ind.

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