Ferris Industries puts Munnsville on the map

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Nov 09, 1998

MUNNSVILLE--Sunday, October 25's Herald American carried a story of the Ward brothers, who lived in Stockbridge Valley and gave the village of Munnsville a positive event occurred that, as one resident put it, "really put Munnsville on the map."

On that day, Ferris Industries, recently relocated to the former Stockbridge Valley School in Munnsville, held an open house to show off its new facility and to thank its many friends and employees who, as Dave Ferris, president, said, made possible "the nicest moment that has ever occurred in my life."

Ferris Industries is an 88-year-old company whose primary product is a commercial lawnmower. It began as the Uebler Milking Machine Company in 1909, in the village of Vernon (just 10 miles from Munnsville) in neighboring Oneida County. Dave Ferris is the grandson of one of the two founding partners. (For a longer history of this company, see page 18 of the Oct. 27, 1997, issue of the Business Journal).

In the mid-'80s, Dave Ferris, who had succeeded his father as president in 1975, looked into the future and saw that milking machines had about as much marketability as the buggy whip in the days of he horseless carriage.

So, using the homegrown expertise of his workers, many of whom had grown up among tractors on the family farm, Ferris introduced the company's first commercial mower. In 1987, the company electrified the industry by introducing the first hydrostatically driven walk-behind mower. And the new-product innovations continue today.

From its original line of high-end commercial mowers, Ferris has branched out into the homeowners' market with a high-end riding mower. And just recently the company introduced a new commercial mower incorporating independent suspension--again, a first in the industry (see sidebar).

To accommodate all this growth and allow for more new-product innovation, Ferris needed a new home. In 1997, Dave Ferris began looking for a new facility. He was committed to staying in the Central New York region, and eventually had seven different properties from; which to choose.

Enter Bill Shea, vice president of marketing and new-product development. Shea, as a new-product innovator who is used to looking at things from a different angle, possessed the imagination to see the potential in a piece of property others might have passed by. A resident of the village of Munnsville, he knew that Stockbridge Valley School was constructing a new building up the hill behind its present facility on Route 5 in Munnsville. And he saw that the old facility had possibilities for Ferris.

For one thing, a pre-engineered building was part of the old facility--perfect for manufacturing. And the old school building was solid and could be transformed into administrative offices. Dave Ferris was soon convinced, and as a result of the work of many people, which Ferris is quick to acknowledge, obstacles were overcome and the company began the $3-million expansion.

ConTegra Construction of Syracuse Linked two existing 12,000-sq.-ft. steel buildings with a new 35,000-sq.-ft. steel building--perfect for manufacturing space. The interior of the former school was remodeled to house the company's administrative offices, engineering, and marketing. The former elementary-school gym remains and will serve as a fitness center for employees.

Pat Bennett, project manager for ConTegra, says that one of the most challenging aspects of the job was converting the old high-school gymnasium into manufacturing space. But a tour of the manufacturing facilities shows that the conversion was successful. It was also a pleasant surprise, and a trip down memory lane, to see that many of the old "school" features of the administrative building had been retained, including "girls" and "boys" signs over the restrooms and the glass display cases in the hallways, the walls of which were lined with the original tiles. The cases, once home to athletic trophies and other school memorabilia, now proudly display photos of Ferris employees at work.

Ferris has tripled its production capacity with this move. The new facility totals 85,000 sq. ft. It also has been possible to consolidate sales/warehouse and administrative operations within the one facility. This year, the company expects to produce 5,000 mowers.

In addition to the buildings, Ferris has purchased a $550,000 state-of-the-art powder-coat paint finishing system and a $450,000 Trumpf turret punch press.

All this is good news for the Munnsville community. So is the promise of 20 additional jobs in the immediate future, and, with room to grow, 20 more pet year in the future. But Ferris brought other advantages to this small rural community.

Professor Adam Weinberg of Colgate University, a leading expert on sustainable development (see article on page 20 of the October 26 issue of The Business Journal calls Ferris Industries "a model company for its commitment to workers and the community." He recounts that not only did Ferris Industries ring to the Stockbridge Valley an employer that pays good wages and benefits for skilled jobs in a good working environment, but, by relocating here, it has also attracted such things as a gasoline pipeline, a healthcare facility, and a doctor's office.