PIERRE, S.D. —“Phenomenal news.” That’s how Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard described the groundbreaking held today, May 6, at Horizontal Machining and Manufacturing, Inc. (HMMI) in Huron.

 

“It truly is exciting to be here today to participate in a groundbreaking,” the Lt. Gov. said. “I commend the management team at HMMI for their forward thinking approach to doing business.”

 

HMMI, a heavy-metal manufacturing facility, will add 17,000 square feet to its existing facility. The expansion will create 35 jobs, with the potential for more jobs in the future.

 

The expansion came as the result of increased referrals from customers and suppliers, according to Earl Nordby, company president. “We have a good reputation for delivery and quality. We started getting more requests for larger machining projects so we decided to take a chance and expand to accommodate those requests,” he said.

 

To do that, the company needed equipment that would allow machining on parts up to 80,000 pounds. “The future looks good with our strong customer list so we felt like this was a good time,” Nordby said.

 

Jim Borszich, Executive Director of Greater Huron Development Corporation called the groundbreaking “very good news for our community. These are difficult and troubling times, so to see a company with this kind of vision for the future and confidence in its ability to deliver long-term results is exciting. This recession is going to end sooner or later, and companies such as HMMI are going to lead us out of it. We wish them best of luck with their expansion and we want them to know that our community is grateful for the confidence that they are showing in us.”

 

The company received a $700,000 REDI (Revolving Economic Development & Initiative) Fund loan from the state to help fund the expansion. “It’s great to see our in-state companies actually expanding during these unstable economic times,” Daugaard said.

 

Partners in the company are Nordby, Gary Beilke, Jack Marshall, John Cyphert and Matt Moeding.

 

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