Photos from Plants 5 and 6

Vermeer Corporation made several announcements relating to recovery from the July 19th tornado at a media event Wednesday.
CEO Jason Andringa told KNIA/KRLS News hours after the storm, he wasn’t sure how fast they would be able to return to full staff and production, but now is overwhelmed by the spirit of rebuilding and how quickly they have returned to 100% of their pre-tornado levels of service.
“It’s immensely gratifying,” he says. “On the 19th, I never would have thought it could be possible that we’d get our team 100 percent back to work within 30 days, and to have our production essentially completely recovered within a month and a half, but already, that very next day [July 20th], as our operations team was thinking through their plan, and figuring out how we were going to do it, my optimism started increasing rapidly.”
He said the company intends to demolish Plants 5 and 6 due to the extensive damage, which he called a “total loss,” but will provide a “clean slate” in regards to the future of the facility. Demolition is set to take place late this fall, with the aim of starting construction of new buildings next spring, with no set timeline for completion. The functions of those plants, as well as some of the warehousing in Plant 7, have been spread to other space along the mile.
Another announcement was made in regards to a new facility north of the mile, but still on campus, called “Shop 48,” in honor of the legacy of Gary Vermeer and how he started the company, and to commemorate the founding year. Shop 48 will combine three engineering shops off-site and move them back to the main campus. It will be responsible for the construction of new prototypes.

Click the above image to enlarge a panoramic view of Plants 5 and 6.
Tune into Thursday’s Let’s Talk Pella for the full report.