Former Blumenthal building in Lansing is alive and well with industry once again

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Two businesses have filled the gap left by the closing of the Blumenthal-Lansing button factory in 2016 in Lansing. Tumbleweed Welding and Prairie Industries have both started operations in the former button factory within this past year.

When news of the closing of the button plant hit the local area, it was the end of an era. Many people in Lansing and the surrounding area, along with generations of their families, had worked at the facility all of their lives. There had been button factories in Lansing since the 1800s, and the building sat idle following announcement of the Blumenthal closing next to a vacant lot where the Northern Engraving building had once been as well.

Many wondered if this building would meet the same fate, including the 70 employees who were left without jobs. The future seemed grim.

Yet, shortly after the Blumenthal closing was announced, through the vision and hard work of many individuals who industriously sought to bring in a new facility to utilize the space, the future of the building has been turned around as both Tumbleweed Welding and Prairie Industries perform their respective specialties while sharing the building space.

Valerie Reinke, Executive Director of Allamakee County Economic Development & Tourism, stated, “The opportunity to work with Prairie Industries and Tumbleweed Welding has been a pleasure. Tumbleweed Welding purchased the Blumenthal building with the plan to relocate their operation there and lease out 70,000 of the 100,000 square foot facility. Tumbleweed Welding wanted to bring in a business that would include jobs. The word on the street was Prairie Industries was looking to expand, so Tumbleweed Welding reached out. In turn, Prairie Industries needed to know there was a workforce available.

"The efforts by locals attracted more than 200 applicants. Prairie Industries opened its doors to (Lansing) Mayor (Mike) Brennan, Main Street Lansing Director Craig White, Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer, and myself at Economic Development. Prairie Industries shared their vision and a tour of their facility in Prairie du Chien, WI. It has been very exciting to drive by the Blumenthal building and see cars in the parking lot, trucks at the docks, and signs with new business names. Allamakee County Economic Development welcomes Prairie Industries to Lansing, Allamakee County and northeast Iowa. And special thanks goes to Tumbleweed Welding!”

Tumbleweed Welding has been serving the asphalt industry for over 20 years through sales and service of a wide range of products. They service and create a specialized line of bins, conveyors and control houses for the asphalt industry. They utilize the east end of the former Blumenthal building, but that left about two-thirds of the building available for another company. They let Prairie Industries, which was looking to expand,  know that there was space available in Lansing. The pieces of the puzzle came together and now the two companies are neighbors.

ABOUT PRAIRIE INDUSTRIES
Prairie Industries specializes in contract converting and packaging of liquid, retail and product displays. They manage the complete co-manufacturing process including raw material procurement, production and final shipment to customers. Prairie Industries also has three locations in Wisconsin in addition to its new facility in Lansing.

Prairie Industries assembles more than 50,000 displays each year and its customers include Boveda and 3M Worldwide - specifically Scotch-Brite, Scotchgard, Command, PELTOR, TEKK Protection, Pro Grade and Sandblaster sanding sponge, among others. Their contract packaging includes blister packaging, clamshell packaging, sleeve and shrink wrapping, and bagging. The company currently produces 40 million blister packs per year. The Lansing facility will work primarily with blister packaging.

Tina Stoeffler, plant manager for Prairie Industries, supervises two plants in Prairie du Chien, WI and also supervises the plant in Lansing. She has worked for Prairie Industries since the company began in 1994 in Prairie du Chien. The company started with eight employees and currently employs 425. They ship to multiple customers across the United States and the Lansing facility is a satellite location. In Lansing, they are currently blister packaging safety glasses, earplugs  and similar types of pieces.

The process involved at the Lansing facility includes the product, such as safety glasses, being delivered to the factory, then there is a machine that creates a blister pack around the object. Next, employees  pack the objects into boxes and then others “pack out” by putting into a master shipping box that gets shipped to the customer. The main customer for  the Lansing facility is 3M, so the final product is shipped to 3M distribution centers.

In regard to the Lansing facility, Stoeffler stated, “We did not have to change much in terms of the building space. A couple of large docking doors had to be created in the west end because the people who purchased the building  (Tumbleweed Welding) were using the existing docking doors. We just made some minor modifications in order to start. We currently have no office personnel in Lansing, so the office space is not being utilized. Primarily, the factory space is what the company is using. In this facility we have 40  employees and are still looking for some workers. People can go to our website,  www.pind.com, to check for employment opportunities.”

She continued, “Workers can be trained for the specific job. We look for basic skill sets of good hand/eye coordination; we need good team players. We had a couple of workers in the Prairie facility who transferred over here but the rest have been new hires from about a 30-mile radius around Lansing. Some of the workers are former Blumenthal employees.

"After the people were hired, they were sent to Prairie du Chien to be trained at one of our plants there.  The company plans to start with 40  employees here. We are somewhat restricted by the height of the building, but we’ll maximize the square footage of the building. We may move other product lines here.”

Many of the jobs at Prairie Industries include repetitive tasks, but the people rotate within their stations. Because the Lansing facility is a satellite facility, ultimately everyone will be trained for all the jobs from beginning to end so they can work in any given area on any given day. Work at the plant is from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Prairie du Chien plants work multiple shifts.

Stoeffler concluded, “Prairie Industries is a great company. People have the benefits of working for a company with  local ownership. Our owner is a  great businessman in the community and is always willing to invest in the company by expanding, purchasing new equipment, and doing what is necessary to make the company grow. Moving to Lansing would be a perfect example of that. That smalltown connection is a huge benefit. We’re excited to be in Lansing and we know that Lansing is excited to have us. There’s been a lot of buzz. We’re positive we can come in and make a difference. And we can grow this facility as well."

Jeff Panko, the owner and president of Prairie Industries, stated, “The decision to open a facility in Lansing has been validated by the high quality of individuals that have accepted positions with Prairie Industries. Production has ramped up quickly and we are already adding additional staff. We are also considering moving additional production to Lansing if we continue to receive high quality applicants. We appreciate the warm welcome and support from the local community.”

LOCAL REACTION
The community leaders of Allamakee County and of Lansing are extremely pleased that the two new businesses have taken over the building. Lansing Mayor Mike Brennan stated, “The City of Lansing is extremely fortunate to be able to get a company like Prairie Industries to come into our community and set up their operation. Not only are they a great company, but their business matches our workforce perfectly. When a group of us went and toured their Prairie Du Chien facilities, we knew this was a great match. Lansing and the surrounding community had the exact workforce that Prairie Industries needed, and the jobs that they bring are exactly what Lansing needed.”

Main Street Lansing Executive Director Craig White expressed, “We are very pleased that both Tumbleweed Welding and Prairie Industries realized Lansing's potential as a community that is willing and ready to grow and change with the times. Change is never easy, but I think we stepped up and met the challenge to supply Prairie Industries with the manpower and can-do attitude they were looking for in a new location for their expanding business.  Tumbleweed Welding was the spark that brought Lansing to Prairie Industries' attention and we are grateful to them."

From the county perspective, Larry Schellhammer, Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Chairperson, added, “Allamakee County is very fortunate to have Prairie Industries expanding their operations to Lansing. The credit for reaching out to Prairie Industries goes to the O'Neills (Tumbleweed Welding) for working to accommodate the physical plant needs of Prairie Industries. Expansions like this help to stabilize the county tax base and provide needed employment. Economic development of this type is very competitive as many small communities have seen a decrease in manufacturing and industry. Therefore, this project has the potential to result in a positive ripple effect for the city of Lansing and for Allamakee County.”

RAGBRAI® will end its ride in Lansing this summer among many other area activities planned. A once idle building in Lansing has new life, as new businesses and industry have come into Lansing and provided many residents new jobs. What better way to also celebrate Lansing’s 150th birthday this year?