From humble beginnings, United Equipment sells worldwide
Published in: Waterloo Courier
Date: 9/12/2005
By: Gloria Aleff
Sep. 12–WAVERLY — United Equipment Accessories was born 53 years ago, in, of all places, the back room of the former Yarcho Motors on Bremer Avenue.
That’s where inventor Vern Iserman used obsolete automobile and lawn mower parts to create a remote control unit for truck mounted cranes.
The unit allowed the crane operator to move the truck at the job site from the crane cab.
Iserman made three of the units. He sold the first one to Shield-Bantam Crane and Excavator Co. (now Terex Cranes) in Waverly.
“That sale,” said Mark Hanawalt, Iserman’s adopted son and president of United Equipment, “launched the company.”
The company’s product line has expanded since then.
The company has been manufacturing slip rings, which transfer electrical current from stationary units to rotating units, for most conceivable 360-degree rotary electrical applications for more than 40 years.
The company developed a more sophisticated slip ring in 1961, for the heavy equipment industry, and introduced cable reels in 1982. Their patented line of electrical slip rings has enabled United Equipment to become one of the largest slip ring manufacturers in the world.
From Waverly, the company ships products to industries throughout the United States and around the world.
“As a manufacturer of aerial basket and digger derrick trucks for the utility industry, United Equipment has been our vendor for slip rings for more than 20 years,” said Amy Thomsen, corporate commodity manager for Altec Industries in St. Joseph, Mo. She places orders for United Equipment slip rings to be shipped to their locations all over the world. “We have a low maintenance relationship with them. No hand holding requirements and that’s great for us.”
“We have been buying our collector rings from United Equipment for many, many years,” said Tim Goldhammer, vice president of Reinke Manufacturing in Deshler, Neb.
More than half of United Equipment sales is to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers.) Reinke is one of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers of center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems, serving growers in the United States and 30 countries worldwide.
All of United Equipment’s products are certified by ISO (Industrial Standards Organization), Hanawalt said. “Only manufacturers who meet consistent quality standards receive this certification.”
United Equipment Accessories has 65 employees, working as a team to design and manufacturing according to customer’s specifications. Most of the employees, have worked for the privately held company for 15 years or more. Brent Jensen, production and engineer coordinator, has the most seniority with 33 years.
The Waverly manufacturer has been at the same location for 53 years.
Last month, the company completed its third renovation. They remodeled the exterior and lobby. Before that, they remodeled the computer room and executive office area, called “the house” because that’s where the Iserman family once lived.
Brian Bockholt, harness department supervisor, started with the company the same year as Hanawalt in 1974. “I have never been laid off.
Manufacturing has changed, but it’s the same family environment,” Bockholt said. “Every product is tested for 100 percent continuity.”
“We have our niche in the market place,” Hanawalt said. “We’re a small company, but we can respond to big jobs and that’s the way we like it.”
Copyright (c) 2005, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Waterloo Courier