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Omaha Steve

(99,581 posts) Tue Apr 28, 2015, 10:38 AM Apr 2015

Omaha-based manufacturing firm needed a new home fast — to fulfill big contract — and got it

Last edited Tue Apr 28, 2015, 11:17 AM - Edit history (1)

BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Rose Bemowski of Omaha fabricates a steel step plate at the new Graepel North America Inc. plant in Sarpy County. Begun in May 2014 on a tight schedule, the building was done within 150 days.

http://www.omaha.com/money/omaha-based-manufacturing-firm-needed-a-new-home-fast-to/article_5c3bbe09-ac8c-54de-b137-423ae291c95b.html

POSTED: TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 1:00 AM
By Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer

Omaha construction industry veteran Rudy Mudra, 79, had been in retirement for a year when he got a call that would send him back to work.

It was February 2014. Mark Zumdohme’s Graepel North America Inc., a manufacturing firm with German ties based in Omaha, had just locked down a large contract for agricultural machinery giant John Deere. The contract stipulated that Graepel would begin production and deliver parts by November, which meant Zumdohme, the CEO and president, had two options:

>> The first — and easiest — was to lease an additional space equal to the existing 20,000 square feet of leased space. The bay next door to its Sarpy County home fit the bill, save for one problem: It was already occupied.

>> The second option was new construction. “Our business here in the U.S. is very substantial and we have long-term contracts with customers, so we decided to build a new facility,” Zumdohme said.

FULL story at link.

BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

A forklift passes a wall illustrating Graepel’s lineage, with both American and German flags. The contract manufacturer is based in Omaha but has century-old roots in Germany.