History of SP Industries Inc.

SP Industries - Past SP Industries - Present Day

The manufacturing facility in which SP Industries is now housed was established in 1957 as Quality Steel Fabrication, a custom fabrication plant. Quality Steel was a special fabrication facility for a variety of companies including Caterpillar Tractor, GMC, Excello Corp., Eaton Corp., Surface Combustion, Timken Bearing, Zurn Industries, Lockheed Manufacturing, and Spartan Waste-Pac. Compactor rams and frames were built for Spartan Waste Pac a company that was the original designer, patentee and manufacturer of refuse reduction equipment. In 1965 Quality Steel purchased Spartan Waste-Pac. From 1965 to 1976 Quality Steel continued to expand into the solid waste equipment market; phasing out the job-shop, custom fabrication operations and concentrating on production of waste handling equipment. In 1976, Jacklin Steel and Supply Co., of Lansing, Michigan, purchased controlling interest in Quality Steel and Purvis Brothers, of Traverse City, Michigan. This prompted a change in the corporate name to Quality Products. By 1981, Quality Products was serving approximately 20% of the waste handling market and had established a reputation as the best refuse handling equipment manufacturer in the industry. In 1982, corporate administration decided to move the operation to Kalamazoo, Michigan. This decision created several problems with Quality's long term employees. The facility management and a number of hourly employees elected to reject the relocation and remain in Hopkins to start a new company. The new corporation, under the name SP Industries, Inc., began operation November 1, 1982. By January 1, 1983, compactors and related waste handling equipment were in production. Since that time, a wealth of proven expertise has been the cornerstone of SP Industries' growth. Dedication to manufacturing the industry's highest quality equipment, and a continuing commitment to safety in the waste industry will continue to guide our product design, manufacturing and service today and into the future. Over the past several years, SP has changed presidents and people to continue it’s growth and stability in the marketplace. In November of 2002 Denny Pool took on the role of president and began the process of rebuilding the organization to better meet the demands of todays business climate. Gene Koelsch hired in as the VP of Sales and Marketing in June of 2004 with over 25 years of experience in compaction systems. On October 2, 2007 SP Industries was granted its’ first patent on the NP-165 Loading System. This unique system allows the loading of materials directly into a standard over the road trailer. Used in the Newspaper industry, this unit has saved customers thousands of dollars in material handling costs. Currently the company is developing a new system for trailer retention in docks and other loading facilities. The company continues to reinvest in facilities, research, and people. The result is a stronger, more tech savy environment that rewards hard work and dedication to exceeding customer expectations. This new breath of life combines experience with innovation and creativity with a vision of building and delivering the best equipment to our customers.