Valparaiso’s Chester, Inc. and Hammond Machine Works hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on December 22 to announce the 12,500-square-foot expansion of the Hammond Machine Works facility.
Hammond Machine Works strives to serve the rail car industry and provide high-quality manufactured solutions to partners across different industries. Based out of Valparaiso, Chester, Inc. is a full-service commercial and industrial firm that facilitates a design-build construction process for a more cohesive and efficient construction solution.
The collaboration between these two businesses will provide great improvements to the town of Hammond. Hammond Machine Works President Peter Nau was able to share what this expansion will mean for the company.
“What this expansion means for the company itself is the ability to better serve our customers. We're going to increase employment by hopefully five to ten people. These will be high-paying jobs requiring employees to have computer and math skills. These are not labor jobs; these are more manufacturing engineering jobs,” Nau said.
Alongside the building expansion, Hammond Machine Works will be gaining a new piece of machinery that will allow for quicker manufacturing time and easier distribution to customers. Tony Hart, sales engineer for Chester, Inc., explained the impact this addition will provide for the community.
“For Hammond Machine, the 12,500-square-foot addition is allowing them to purchase an automated laser system that makes tons of different parts. It's adding jobs to the community, and it's adding to their customer base and outreach,” said Hart. “It's been over 40 years since they were able to expand, and it has taken two years to get to this point, but we finally are here and we broke ground. We're hoping to have the building done in the next four to five months. It's opening many more opportunities for Peter, his family, and his team here at Hammond.”
Currently, Hammond Machine Works is outsourcing many of its products. As soon as the expansion is finished, and the new automated laser system is up and running, there will be significantly less outsourcing taking place.
“I'm really excited about this new piece of equipment that is going to arrive in May. It's going to be a beautiful, brand-new building and we're going to house a brand-new laser plate cutting machine in that building. We'll be able to pull in about 70% of the work that we're outsourcing right now,” Nau said. “That will allow us to better serve our customers with a quicker, faster response time and quicker deliveries. That's what I'm really looking forward to is improving our response time and being a better supplier.”
This collaboration between Chester, Inc. and Hammond Machine Works will improve both the quality and the quantity of the products that are produced by Hammond Machine Works. The train, chemical, and medical industries will all be benefiting from this expansion.
“They were having to outsource the products that they're going to be making with the laser. They cut parts that they produce for the training, chemical, and medical industries. This laser allows them to expand a whole new line of business and no longer outsource, ultimately creating those products,” Hart said.
Chester, Inc. is excited to get started on this project that has been in the works for over two years. Being able to help another business and community is important to the company.
“Chester loves doing these projects and helping with expansions for businesses to grow, and we'd like to grow with them,” said Development Manager at Chester, Inc. Rich Shields.
For more information about Chester, Inc., visit its website at www.chesterinc.com.