Manufacturing bodes well for area economy

When you drive by the Valmont plant facing U.S. Highway 83 in south McCook, you immediately sense that it's a large and busy place. But, while struck by the plant's size, you may not realize that the McCook Valmont plant, "Is the largest, most technologically advanced and mechanized irrigation plant in the world."

You heard right. "The largest, most technologically advanced and mechanized irrigation plant in the world." Those words, from Plant Manager Kenneth Bracht, illustrate how impressive the McCook plant has become since its opening in January of 2000.

Before locating in McCook, Valmont had conducted a widespread search for a plant location, visiting a number of communities -- large and small -- in a vast section of the middle and western United States.

McCook -- blessed by an excellent railside location and an industry-friendly attitude -- won out, with the announcement made just before the turn of the century. Getting a fresh start on the vast, level site adjacent to the railroad and highway, Valmont began the 2000s with a more efficient, mechanized manufacturing approach at the McCook plant.

After taking this dramatic step, how's Valmont's McCook plant doing? In a word, excellent.

Due to increased demand for center pivot irrigation systems, the employment level at the McCook plant is at an all-time high, Bracht said. The plant manager went on to explain, "We have steadily increased in shipments (of center pivot systems) and we are beyond previous year levels."

This is not only good news for the McCook area, it is also good news for the nation because the McCook Valmont plant produces center pivots for the domestic (or U.S.) market. "Two of the states with strong demand now are Kansas and Nebraska," Bracht said. "This is quite a turnaround as a year ago center pivot sales in Nebraska were slumping."

The Valmont plant is making a significant contribution to the local economy through payroll dollars, but the manufacturing plant's impact goes beyond that. It has also brought a tire supplier, Silverstone Inc., to town, and has created added truck and rail traffic for the area.

Even more economic growth may result from the industrial park being developed on the property east of Valmont. The land, where Silverstone's building is situated, is being readied as an industrial site by the McCook Economic Development Corp.

The success of the Valmont center pivot facility in McCook is encouraging, especially on top of the news last week that the Parker plant in McCook is enjoying an increase in industrial hose orders. Along with the new jobs at the ethanol plant in Trenton and the Wal-Mart distribution center jobs in North Platte, the manufacturing upturn bodes well for the Southwest Nebraska economy.