WASP Merges with FAST Manufacturing, Increases Capacity by 50 Percent

WASP Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of non-powered ground support equipment for the airline and air cargo industry and a leading manufacturer of conveyors for the parcel delivery industry, announces that it’s merging with FAST Manufacturing, Inc., a producer of high-quality sprayers and liquid fertilizer equipment for the agricultural industry. The partnership will diversify the companies for greater stability and growth while adding jobs in Minnesota.

The FAST Manufacturing headquarters in Windom, Minnesota, is adding a night shift as production increases following a merger with WASP, a global manufacturer of conveyors and airline ground support equipment based in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Verlyn and Nancy Fast founded FAST in 1990 in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, to provide quality-engineered solutions backed by great customer service to farmers. Verlyn will continue to be involved with the company for the next few years, focusing on new product design and testing.

“Choosing to partner with WASP will offer our FAST team the benefit of being part of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, so they’ll own part of the company now,” Verlyn said. “That piece is a key reason why we chose to move forward with this merger. Plus, the diversification that comes with the partnership will provide long-term stability and ensure customers’ needs are always met.”

WASP has been employee owned since 1997, and FAST will now be part of that.

“We’re excited to partner with WASP and feel that both companies are ideally suited for each other,” Verlyn said. “Both manufacturers are headquartered in the heart of the United States’ Midwest and take pride in producing the best quality products in our respective industries. Together, we can be even better and stronger.”

With the merger and the addition of a night shift at FAST, for which applications are now being accepted, the combined companies will grow to nearly 700 employee-owners this year. The merger, which included 200,000 square feet of FAST facility space in both Windom and Mountain Lake, Minnesota, along with Gilman, Illinois, resulted in more than 500,000 square feet of workspace spread across five facilities in Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois.

WASP’s headquarters in Glenwood, Minnesota, coordinates the production of high-quality conveyors and ground support equipment. In addition to the headquarters facility, the company has five other facilities across central Minnesota and in Nebraska for nearly 500,000 square feet of space from which to serve customers around the globe.

In the past year, including this acquisition, WASP invested more than $12 million in large-format metal manufacturing equipment to provide increased capacity and faster order turnaround times. Among the new production machines are flat sheet lasers, robotic welders, a tube laser, machining centers, heavy press brakes, and a continuous motion, state-of-the-art powder coat paint line. Those machines will enhance both companies’ services and products due to shared technologies and greater overall capacity to quickly meet customers’ needs.

“First and foremost, we see this as a way to strategically combine our two companies to better serve our customers across all the industries in which we work,” said Dane Anderson, WASP president and CEO. “The synergies that come with our combined production capabilities means we can meet customers’ needs for high-quality GSE, conveyors and agricultural equipment even faster, while continuing to provide our industry-leading levels of quality and service.”

WASP was founded in 1979 and has grown to be the world’s largest manufacturer of non-powered ground support products as well as a leading manufacturer for package conveyors and military trailers. It is headquartered in Glenwood, Minnesota, and also has a manufacturing facility in Falls City, Nebraska. Its equipment can be found in more than 65 countries.

FAST produces pull-type, front-mount and three-point sprayers; vertical- and side-fold liquid fertilizer applicators; tractor-mounted tanks; nurse trailers and pasture sprayers. For information on new positions being added at FAST, which will be eligible for as much as a $2,500 bonus, go to the FAST careers page.