When the team behind the new facility at Massman in Alexandria sat down to design their plant’s new cafeteria, they wanted something that would reflect the company’s ethos better than tables, chairs, and a few vending machines.
The result? A wall.
Not a wall with safety reminders, motivational posters, or time clocks; a wall with visual reminders of who Massman is.
The 40-foot mural that now greets lunchtime visitors includes images that tell a story of Alexandria: the Kensington Runestone; “Ole” the 28-foot Viking statue that stands on the shore of Lake Agnes; the small aircraft once owned by Massman founder Burl Massman; the sign from his ice fish house.
More importantly, though, are the items affixed to the wall — items contributed by Massman employees: a deer head, a Joe Mauer jersey, ice fishing gear, downhill and cross-country skis, snowshoes, golf clubs, hockey sticks, and skates. These items tell a story of the people who make Massman tick.
“The facility is a representation of Massman,” says Jeff Hohn, the company’s president and CEO. “It’s who we are.”
Like many successful manufacturers, Massman outgrew its original home in Villard, a small town south of Alexandria. When the decision was made to expand, Hohn says it didn’t take long to come to a decision that stayed true to its Villard roots but that acknowledged logistical challenges to a Villard expansion. Because business was booming, they opted to maintain the Villard facility and build anew in Alexandria, the city where clients stay when visiting and where many Massman employees reside.
But the construction of a new facility, while absolutely a chance to create an efficient and lean manufacturing site, gave Massman a chance to do something else: build a facility that is as beautiful as it is efficient, one that gives employees extra incentive to come to work.
The cafeteria is just one example of how Massman’s new facility might be the model for the future, one where beauty replaces dirty, and the employee experience is a top priority.
The Massman way
In 1978, Burl Massman’s idea of using automation to create packaging machines was born. A year later, he sold his first machine — which automatically wrapped aluminum storm doors for shipping — to the Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp. in Iowa.
Four years later Massman’s success allowed him to move out of his garage and into his first building. Twenty years and thousands of sold packaging systems later, Massman built a new facility in Villard. The company expanded again in 2011, but by 2022 the writing was on the wall; they needed more space.
They purchased 80 acres of land in Alexandria and began planning Massman’s future home.
But instead of letting a consultant tell them how to design it, Massman assembled a team that included people from all walks of Massman’s workforce, from shop floor newbies to longtime veterans.
Massman, meanwhile, has grown steadily over the years. It currently employs nearly 200 people between both sites, and it has come a long way from a garage-based startup wrapping aluminum doors. Today their customers are global companies.
“We make automated machines that put things in a box, put things in a jar, put things in a cup,” Hohn says. “We don’t put the cereal in the box. We put the carton in the box for them, then we put the box onto a pallet, and then it gets shipped. We put the four candies in the box for the Halloween candy. We put the fruit cups into their carton. We put the paints into the can, and then we can put the can into the case, and that case then onto a pallet.”
Since 2016, the same year Massman was acquired by Granite Partners, the company has experienced 20% annual growth.
“Not too many companies can make that claim,” says Hohn, who took over at Massman in December 2020.
Massman builds engineered-to-order packaging systems that often comprise more than 2,000 unique parts and can weigh up to 10 tons. The average sale price of a Massman-made machine is about $500,000. Lead time on orders is between five and eight months, depending on the machine.
“We design it, machine the metal, assemble it, test it, and install and test it again in the customer’s factory,” Hohn says. “So, it’s a pretty fast process.”
New digs
In the early stages of design, when Hohn and his design team were meeting with architects, a plan began to emerge of what the future of Massman might look like.
But a funny thing happened.
The architect assumed the team at Massman wanted a building that, like most buildings, had a front facade that faced the public.
That assumption was incorrect, and antithetical to everything the Massman team wanted to do.
“The architect kept spinning the building around and facing it to the street, and I kept spinning it back the other direction. They said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ And I said, ‘Because we’re building the building for the people in the building, not the people driving by.’ No one’s going to drive by and say, ‘Oh, I’m going to stop in and buy a half-million dollar piece of automated machinery.’ So, all the views and all the orientation is to the benefit of the employees.”
People who live in Alexandria love to be outdoors and in nature, Hohn says. Many of them are hunters or fishermen. Many love to hike or otherwise enjoy Alexandria’s myriad natural recreation opportunities.
“We wanted something that, when people looked out the windows, they see what they love,” Hohn says. “They see what brings them joy and relaxation and makes them feel good about being here.”
One unique feature of the facility is the walking trails. Hohn and a few other Massman engineers mapped out a 0.9-mile walking trail that employees could easily traverse on a 15-minute break.
Inside the building, 350 panes of glass surround all four sides, bringing an abundance of natural light into nearly every corner of the building.
On the floor, they saved money by not installing expensive flooring and instead embracing an industrial yet classy polished concrete look. They maintain that theme on the walls where, instead of drywall or paint, they’ve left them as is. Trims and finishes are solid wood, not the plastic recommended by the architect. And a local company was contracted to supply oak cabinetry.
Another feature of the building has nothing to do with light or design and everything to do with that old Real Estate axiom: location, location, location.
More than 80% of Massman employees currently live in Alexandria. So, while Massman could have built a 40,000-square-foot expansion in Villard, it had higher aspirations for growth. The new facility is roughly 70,000 square feet and cost just over $17 million and allowed them to get exactly the facility they wanted, including plenty of room to expand.
“Why not pick a site that can be your future home for the next 100 years?” Hohn says. “We’ll never have to leave this site again to buy more space, unless, you know, we become the largest automated packaging company in the United States.”
When Massman brings in customers, they stay in Alexandria. And while the company’s roots remain in Villard, the region’s heartbeat sits firmly in Alexandria.
“We eat in the restaurants in Alexandria. We stay in the hotels in Alexandria. We entertain the customers in Alexandria,” Hohn says. “So if all of that activity is happening in Alexandria today, why not just be in Alexandria?”
Bob Kill, Enterprise Minnesota president and CEO, says he was impressed by Massman’s thoughtful approach to the building’s design and the fact that it focused on improving the work lives of the people who are there every day. Focusing on that, he says, is key for retention — a major concern for nearly all manufacturers.
“That’s becoming a big competitive advantage. I was struck by how they really understood that the most precious commodity we all have is our people,” Kill says.
In addition to Massman having a state-of-the-art facility, Kill says they’ve also got a state-of-the-art CEO in Hohn.
“He’s a leader. He’s not a manager,” Kill says, who has known Hohn for several years and watched him grow into an industry leader.
“Companies with leaders in that position will grow faster than those with managers in that position.”
“Massman’s new home has been thoughtfully designed to advance the well-being of the company’s team members, beginning with including them in the building process,” says Rick Bauerly, Granite Partners’ founder and CEO. “Our shared vision of world-class well-being and the objective of 100-year sustainability can be felt throughout the new facility.”
There is a spirit to the new Massman headquarters: It honors the company’s history, it looks to future growth, and it honors the community and its neighbors.
Return to the Winter 2024 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
