Specialty equipment from Nelson Manufacturing in Ottawa is ready for display at the CONEXPO in Las Vegas in March.
Dean Brown | The Lima News
LIMA —Nelson Manufacturing in Ottawa and Wannemacher Logistics in Lima are businesses that started small but have grown. Both have a wide reach, since they transport goods across different regions and even countries.
Nelson Manufacturing started in 1947. Nelson specializes in building custom trailers for unique needs of its customers. Nelson serves a wide range of markets with specialty trailers including automotive, manufacturing, agriculture, heavy haul, military, nuclear and aerospace. Boom dollies are a niche market that Nelson has developed over the years.
There are three countries that use boom dollies: Canada, the United States and Australia. Most of Nelson’s business is with customers in the United States, about 85%. There are three or four shipments a year that go to Australia. Nelson has developed a working relationship with the handful of crane manufacturers that build large cranes that use dollies.
“The people at those factories know us,” said Tony Niese, president of Nelson Manufacturing. “They’re not a very huge market. It’s not like we are trying to sell something to everyone. Once you get a good product into those areas, into those niche markets, they’re a small, tight-knit group of people.
“The majority of (business) comes from those niche markets. Just getting something in there that works and taking care of those customers. They see what value our stuff brings to them and other people will follow. That’s the best way to do it.”
Wannemacher Logistics was an already established trucking firm, Baumgartner Trucking, when purchased in 1991. Its trucking business, which has 10 trucks and 50 trailers, transports goods within a 250-mile radius of Lima. Drivers are out and back in the same day. Wannemacher’s transportation division provides reliable and efficient shipping locally and also regionally across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
Wannemacher added warehouse space, spray drying and liquid fill to its operations, which extends its reach. Spray drying is a method of forming a dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. This is the preferred method of drying many thermally-sensitive materials, such as foods and pharmaceuticals, or materials which may require extremely consistent, fine particle size. Air is the heated drying medium. Wannemacher then can arrange the shipment of the product. The location of the plant puts product within 600 miles of 60% of the population of the United States.
Wannamacher’s liquid packaging is used for packaging mainly for food/beverage but for other products as well. These are used to fill either a bottle or a pouch, depending on the product. Wannemacher has experience in honey, molasses and syrup. They complete the production and the shipping for their customers.
The combination of services Wannemacher Total Logistics provides enables it to transport products to its facility, store it and repackage it, as well as handle the outbound shipping to your customers.
Both Nelson and Wannemacher have expanded reaching new markets, attracting more customers and thus increasing revenue. By expanding into new markets, they have reduced a reliance on one market or product. The size and scope of their operations reach far from the Lima area both nationally and internationally.
CELEBRATING OUR SPIRIT
Plenty of foods, items and ideas are created right here in the Lima region. Celebrating Our Spirit looks at those organizations that make the area such a vibrant place to live, work and play.
Read more stories at LimaOhio.com/tag/spirit.
Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409
