MIDWEST PLANT TOUR
Throughout the tour you will find fun facts and info about our company, our products and our people. You may click on the numbers on the plant image above for a guided tour or use your scroll bar.
MIDWEST PLANT IN IDA GROVE, IA

This is our main manufacturing facility where we produce ShoreLand’r Trailers and ShoreStation Lakefront Systems.

This facility was built in stages, beginning back in 1967 and ending in 1988.

At 341,000 square feet, this is the largest trailer manufacturing plant in the world. There are on average 300 people employed at this facility. We operate on two shifts, a day shift and a night shift.

The unique architecture reflects founder Byron Godbersen’s love of European castles.
NEW DISTRIBUTION WAREHOUSE

Midwest Industries, Inc. has begun work on a new distribution warehouse that will be located adjacent to the main manufacturing plant in Ida Grove, IA.  This 40,000 square foot facility will be the central distribution hub for the company’s new Global Replenishment System (GRS).  The warehouse will employ 10-12 workers and is scheduled for completion sometime in late spring 2006.


1.
We have a 16-person
MAINTENANCE DEPT.

This team covers everything from fixing leaky faucets to building and re-furbishing The Bounty.

A number of us specialize in areas such as:

  • Automotive Repair
  • Electrical
  • Janitorial
  • Construction
  • Maintenance
  • and Special Projects
2.
THE PARTS CAGE
OUR HEADQUARTERS FOR PURCHASED PARTS

Midwest Industries has approximately $3,000,000.00 of purchased parts on hand to support the production process.

About 125 suppliers ship material to us.

We use over 90,000 boat trailer tire and wheel assemblies per year.

We unload 10-12 trucks and handle 120-140 tons of material, each day.

Plus, we receive an average of 30-35 UPS packages every day.

This material is all checked through the receiving area to verify quality and counts, before being entered into the computer.
3.

TRAILER ASSEMBLY AREA

The Trailer Assembly Area consists of 2 assembly lines and sub assembly areas.

Large Assembly Line
This line produces around 75% of all trailers built at Midwest.

Depending on the mix of trailer models, we average anywhere from 8 to 17 trailers per hour.

The Trailer Assembly Process...

  • We begin in the prepping area,
    with stacks of trailer frames.
  • In station #1, we wire it and put on taillights.
  • In station #2, we add either the bunks or rollers, and the hardware bags.
  • Next is station #3, where we put the tongue and axle in the bundle.
  • Next is station #4, where fenders are attached.
  • Finally, at station #5, we put on the winch, check the lights, and stack the frames for shipping.
    SUB ASSEMBLY AREAS
    There are also “sub-assembly” areas responsible
    for production of bunks, tongues, axles, winches,
    and hardware bags.

Small Assembly Line
This area is where all of the smaller trailer models are assembled.

Sub Assembly Areas
There are also “sub-assembly” areas responsible for production of bunks, tongues, axles, winches, and hardware bags.
4.
DOCK ASSEMBLY

This area is where Genuine ShoreStation Dock and dock accessories are assembled.

We have nine team members, and we can produce up to 150 dock sections in one day.

Dock sections are available in various widths, in both aluminum or cedar styles.

Aluminum dock production now exceeds wood dock. It is very popular with consumers because of its low maintenance and good looks
5.
We have our own in-house
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPT.

This team manages all of our computer equipment and programming.

We have:

  • Over 15 miles of networking cable, including
    the latest fiber-optic technology.
  • Over 110 computer workstations, including
    PC and Macintosh systems.
  • 10 servers that generate more heat than
    your average barbeque grill. They require
    40,000 BTUs to keep cool.
  • A variety of in-house printers that allow us to
    print everything from 1/4” labels to 150’ signs.

6.
GALVANIZING / LOADING

This is part of the Loading Team. We prepare parts going out to be galvanized or plated.

2 or 3 trucks per day go to either West Point, NE or Des Moines, IA.

There are 4 areas:

  1. STAGING AREA - here frames are prepared, stacked and banded together.
  2. COUNTING AREA - here they count all parts going out.
  3. TOUCH-UP AREA - After the parts return they are touched up by what we call hot sticking. The part is heated up by a torch, then a stick of falv is melted on it, then brushed to smooth it out.
  4. AXLE AREA - here the axles are prepared. We place caps on the ends and put greese on the spindles, caulk is places inside the cap, and then it is put on the axle. This ensures that no galvanizing gets in the cap on the spindles.

When the trucks return they unload the frames and prepare them for the assembly lines. The parts are tagged, counted and delivered to the right department.
7.
SEWING ROOM

Our in-house Sewing Room produces vinyl canopy covers for ShoreStation hoists.

The Sewing Team produces up to 15 canopies a day, year round.

Canopies can be as big as 36’ long by 11’ wide.

In the past 2 years, they have begun using a new method of “welding” vinyl seams, which provides a more watertight seal.
8.
TOOL & DIE

The team consists of:

  • Specialists
  • Technician
  • Designer/Resource

These folks are responsible for designing, building and maintaining dies, special machines, jigs, fixtures, and speical tooling.

We are registered as part of the National Apprenticeship Program in accordance with the basic standards of apprenticeship established by Secretary of Labor - for the trade classification of TOOL AND DIE MAKER.
9.
ENGINEERING

Our engineering and product development department are responsible for our top quality products and innovative designs.

This team researchs, develops, tests, and produces support materials for our hoist, dock, and trailer lines.
10.
PAINT LINE

ShoreLand'r Trailers are known for their high-quality, powder-coat finish.

We currently paint trailers in white, black, pearl white, red, blue, pewter and silver.

Raw Material is brought into the hanging area by forklift, where it is hung on the line.

The conveyor pulls the product 820 feet through a three stage wash system, that includes

  • dry off oven
  • powder-coating booth
  • bake oven

Then it returns to the take off area. The entire process takes approximately 3.5 hours.
11.
WELDING ROBOTS

We currently have 6 welding Robots:

  • Two are 5-axis Miller Robots purchased in 1989 and 1990. They primarily are used to weld spring brackets, inline roller pins and small trailer axles.
  • In 1993 we purchased our third 5-axis Miller Robot. It welds most of our trailer axles.
  • In 1996, we purchased our first 5-axis Panasonic Robot. It welds a wide variety of parts.
  • In 1998 we purchased two 6-axis Panasonic robots. Their unique 6th axis enables them to flip over backwards adding another welding station. They mainly weld trailer tongue channels and ShoreStation parts.

12.
WELDING

The welding department currently has 11 manual part welding booths set up to weld all of the parts that cannot be welded on the robot welders, including some of our large axles. We also have 7 frame welding booths set up to weld trailer frame, 3 of which have the capability of team welding using a 3 man team. The remaining 4 frame welding booths are set up for 2 man teams. We also have an aluminum welding booth which is set up with a pulse welder.

We use 3 different sizes of welding wire and we use a lot of it...

  1. L-50 .045 s used on all frames, most manual welded parts and also on the parts robots. In an average year we use 90,666 pounds which is equal to 3,177 miles.
  2. L-50. 35 is used on ShoreStation big wheels and other light gage metal. In an average year we use 1,300 pounds which is equal to 75 miles.
  3. L-56 .045 is used on our axles. This wire has a harder tensile strength than our standard .045 wire. In an average year we use 14,600 pounds which is equal to 511 miles.
  4. The gas mixture that we use is 95% Argon and 5% Oxygen. We use approximately 1.1 million cubic feet of Argon gas per year.
13.
FABRICATION

This is one of the “gateway departments” that supplies parts to down-stream departments.

We perform many types of operations including: tube and rod cutting, shearing, plasma cutting, punching, forming, blanking of parts, and bending operations.

CNC machines are in use in many areas, with light curtain safe guarding where needed.

We currently have over 300 dies in service. Almost all of them have been made in-house, by our Tool & Die department.

Two of the first machines used by Midwest are still used today: 600 ton brake press and a cut-off machine.
14.
SHORESTATION

The ShoreStation Boat Hoist product line was first introduced in 1959. We manufacture hoists for everything from personal watercraft to big boats up to 15,000 pounds.

It takes an average of 7 bundles of parts to put together a hoist. Most hoists are also sold with a canopy frame which takes an additional 5 bundles. During the peak season we produce 250 complete boat hoists and 170 canopy frames, each week.

ShoreStation Team members are constantly making improvements to their area. They are responsible for developing work centers and maintaining a system for customer satisfaction feedback.
15.
THE DRILL ROOM

This “gateway department” supplies parts to many down-stream departments. Primary duties are: sawing steel and aluminum, tube bending, hole drilling, and performing punching operations on steel and aluminum.

Several work cells perform multiple functions such as cutting, drilling, and bending tube steel in one operation.

The overhead crane feeds all band saws with material, and unloads truckloads of tube steel.

We utilize:

  • 9 band saws – to cut steel and aluminum;
  • 2 large gang drills - capable of drilling multiple holes at the same time;
  • 3 large CNC drilling machines
  • 1 smaller CNC drill
  • 8 benders – used to bend trailer side frames cross-members, and other parts; several drill presses; and a punch press for punching holes in tube steel and aluminum.

All benders were built in-house by our Tool & Die Department.