HUMBOLDT — B&W Trailer Hitches hosted about 15 members of Iola’s Rotary Club for a tour of the Humboldt facility Thursday afternoon. Engineer Todd Eyster showed Rotarians around the mammoth 500,000 square foot factory floor, explaining each step of the process in creating state-of-the-art hitches.
Founded in 1987 by Roger Baker and Joe Works, B&W now employs over 500 people. Eyster demonstrated to Rotarians the various machines, materials and workflows that keep the place a beehive of activity. Three shifts, including a traditional overnight shift, allow the company to churn out hitches at a mind-boggling clip; Eyster said the factory completes around 6,000 tow and stow hitches alone every week.
The company is growing, too, expanding the northwest corner of the building in order to bring zinc plating operations in house. A 7.5 megawatt solar project is nearly complete. All rooftop panels have been installed, and one of three sections is already online and producing electricity. The project will offset more than 80% of B&W’s electric consumption.
Eyster even gave the crew a sneak peek of the upcoming Christmas card. Each year, B&W employees produce thousands of intricate holiday designs laser-cut from thin sheets of steel that are then mailed out to friends and customers. This year’s design was impressive, but still top secret, so no photos were allowed. Guess we’ll just have to wait until December.
