Category: Business & Careers

An employee-owned company supporting the construction industry marks 45 years in business this year.

Bierschbach Equipment & Supply has grown to five locations and continues to invest in its Sioux Falls presence.

“Homegrown companies like Bierschbach really help support the overall growth of the Sioux Falls area and our broader region,” said Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“We’re proud to be their corporate headquarters and congratulate them and their employee-owners on the recent milestone anniversary.”

Here’s a closer look at the business, courtesy of president Chad O’Donnell.

Business name: Bierschbach Equipment & Supply

Year founded: October 1979 in Sioux Falls

Total employees in the Sioux Falls area: 35

CEO/lead executive in Sioux Falls: Chad O’Donnell, president

How would you describe your organization to someone not familiar with it?

Bierschbach is an employee-owned company, or ESOP, with its headquarters in Sioux Falls and locations in Rapid City, Sioux City, Fargo and Dickinson, that sells, rents and services light construction equipment and distributes construction materials and supplies to the construction industry across six states in the north-central region. We work closely with all construction trades and many government agencies. We pride ourselves on being problem-solvers for our customers.

What are the top three reasons you continue to locate in the Sioux Falls area?

Sioux Falls is a very progressive community that is focused on improving the business climate for our local businesses as well as welcoming new business. Sioux Falls provides a high quality of life and offers a great community to live in and raise a family. The growth that Sioux Falls has experienced aligns very well with our business.

What are you most proud of within your business in the past year?

The 2024 construction season got off to a difficult start this year. Early heavy rains have delayed many construction projects, interest rates had some projects on hold, and building permits are down. The switch was flipped in the late summer and early fall. Things have gotten very busy. The delayed start is now cramming the season into a short window. Our teams have responded very well to making sure we’re providing the high quality of service our customers expect from us.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your business?

The workforce is a major concern for us. For example, our business requires skilled service technicians to service the equipment we sell and rent, as well as servicing our customers’ equipment. Without enough service people, equipment is shut down and not available for use. There are fewer people qualified and interested in this type of work.

How would you describe the culture of your business in three words?

Thinking like owners.

Why does your business choose to invest in Forward Sioux Falls?

The mission and goals of Forward Sioux Falls align very well with Bierschbach. Our business depends on growth in our markets. Workforce development is an important initiative — we all need to attract talented employees. Forward Sioux Falls does a great job focusing on these issues. We also make a point of emphasizing community involvement within Bierschbach and list community involvement as one of our core values. By being a member of Forward Sioux Falls, we’re walking our talk.

What specific advantages or values have you found to partnering with Forward Sioux Falls and its programs?

By being a member of Forward Sioux Falls, we’ve been able to receive strategic information on planned future growth and expansion opportunities in the Sioux Falls area. Through Forward Sioux Falls’ initiatives, we’ve been able to participate in the economic development and growth that Sioux Falls has experienced. We will also benefit from their workforce initiative.

What are your expectations for your business in the year ahead?

We expect a strong construction market. The supply chain has been getting straightened out from the issues COVID created. This will allow us to operate in a more normal manner. Workforce shortages will continue to be a concern.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

From its relatively low-profile location in Sioux Falls, Design Tanks aims to be the nationwide leader in fiberglass tank manufacturing.

“Our mission through modern design, engineering and manufacturing processes is to create the highest-quality fiberglass tanks in the industry while bringing outstanding value to our customers,” president and CEO Bret Vanden Bosch said.

Located at 612 W. Blackhawk St., Design Tanks manufactures custom-engineered FRP — fiberglass-reinforced plastic — tanks that store corrosive liquids. The company’s products support a range of industries, including ag, food and beverage, energy, industrial chemical, water, wastewater and air pollution control.

“This is advanced manufacturing at its best,” said Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“Design Tanks has a nearly 70-year history, and in that time, they have evolved and enhanced their business to become an industry leader. These are excellent careers, and we’re eager to do what we can to support this company’s growth.”

Here’s a closer look at the business, courtesy of Vanden Bosch.

Business name: Design Tanks.

Year founded: 1956.

Year operations began in Sioux Falls: 1956.

Total employees in the Sioux Falls area: 80.

CEO/lead executive in Sioux Falls: Bret Vanden Bosch.

What are the top three reasons you continue to locate in the Sioux Falls area?

We take great pride in being a Sioux Falls-based company, and I think our reasons come down to our dedicated employees really representing the best of the “Midwest work ethic”: working until the job gets done, staying humble through success and remaining community-focused. We’re all from here; it’s a great state and city to do business in, and we want to make sure we give back to our communities through our success as a company.

What are you most proud of within your business in the past year?

Design Tanks had a record-breaking year in 2023, making more tanks of all sizes than we ever have before. And we’re on track to do it again in 2024. Our team continues to perform at such a high level that we’re able to produce quality products with both exceptional efficiency and employee safety standards.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your business?

With Design Tanks’ rapid growth and plant expansions, we’re always looking to add new employees to the team. New members are critical for us to continue advancing and keeping up with new demand, so it can be tough if there’s an employee shortage. We’re actually hiring right now for a few entry-level roles.

How would you describe the culture of your business in three words?

We are family. Design Tanks prioritizes a family culture when bringing in new hires and looking out for veteran employees to make sure everyone succeeds both on and off the job. We look after our own.

Why does your business choose to invest in Forward Sioux Falls?

Forward Sioux Falls is diligently working to help bring in new employees to help counteract any shortage we have, and bringing in new employees means bringing in new community members, which inherently enriches the Sioux Falls community and economy. We want Sioux Falls to not only continue being a great community for our employees to live in, but to expand it for future generations to come.

What specific advantages or values have you found to partnering with Forward Sioux Falls and its programs?

Partnering with Forward Sioux Falls can align us with a strategic vision for economic development and community growth, providing access to resources, networks and opportunities that can drive success and sustainability. By providing high-quality jobs that require talented, upstanding people, Forward Sioux Falls will help us fill those roles, and inherently the community, with people who fit the bill.

What are your expectations for your business in the year ahead?

Continue to focus on what we do best: customer service, best-in-business delivery times and high-quality products. If we keep this course, there’s no telling what we can achieve.

To learn more about Design Tanks, click below.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

A former Wells Fargo operations center building has transformed into an expanded space for a fast-growing manufacturer.

Graco Inc., which is based in Minneapolis, has expanded four times since originally coming into the Sioux Falls market in 1993. The newest addition at 3401 N. Fourth Ave., adds 95,000 square feet, with a new connection to the manufacturer’s existing facility, for a total of 300,000 square feet.

“Plus, we doubled our acreage and can add to the west,” said Sue Christensen, operations manager, who has been with the company for almost 25 years and ironically began her career in the same building when it was part of Hutchinson Technology.

“We’ve had significant growth at this location over 30 years and have added a lot of highly skilled employees because we invest in technology.”

More automation takes away some ergonomic concerns and offers workers an increasingly high-tech environment.

“People can operate robots instead of physically sitting all day to perform the task,” Christensen said. “I think we’ve done a good job balancing our growth with a better skill set and higher-paid positions for people to move into.”

The Sioux Falls team supplies tips, spray guns and applicators such as those in the photo below to all divisions at Graco.

“We produce the products that fit in your hand,” Christensen said. “They’re at the end of the hose applicator, so things like spray guns and valves and tips. We do everything from precision machining and work that is highly automated to manual assembly when needed.”

The new addition supports a recent acquisition of a California-based company that makes high-purity valves.

“Graco is a growth company — both organically and by acquisition — and we are continually working on designs for new product launches,” Christensen said.

The business has grown to 300 full-time employees and continues to add, especially experienced CNC machinists.

“Our employees are very committed to continuous improvement,” said Tammy Wierenga, human resources manager.

“We conduct training for our entry-level positions, but we need highly skilled technical people for our machining roles.”

The newest building now serves as the front door for Graco in Sioux Falls. The office space was vacated by Wells Fargo during the pandemic, and while much of the building was renovated completely from workstations into manufacturing space, some of the office area was updated with new finishes and now is used by Graco’s team.

“We did a face-lift with new carpet and paint and furniture,” Christensen said. “And then we moved in some of our legacy work into the new addition, along with a space for clean manufacturing.”

The architect on the project was TSP, and the general contractor was Henry Carlson Construction.

The new addition is “another significant milestone in Graco’s growth journey in Sioux Falls,” said Mike Gray, director of business development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“Our organization’s relationship with Graco has been a source of pride since the early 1990s, when they became a cornerstone tenant in Sioux Empire Development Park 3. Since those early days, we have collaborated on numerous expansion projects, witnessing firsthand their growth and commitment to the community.”

Graco’s success story “is not just about business,” he continued. “It’s a testament to the vibrant economic landscape of Sioux Falls. We look forward to continuing to work together and celebrating many more milestones in the future.”

For Graco, the Development Foundation is “great to work with,” Christensen said. “They’ve been very helpful in making us aware of all that’s available to support our growth and stayed connected with us throughout the process.”

The company also has partnered with the Development Foundation around workforce development programming.

“I take advantage of the networking events and educational events and appreciate the insight they offer,” Wierenga said.

Graco held a ribbon-cutting on May 8 to celebrate its new addition.

To learn more about current career opportunities at Graco, click here.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

As a highly technical company, Interstates requires a heavy STEM-based skill set from its team — and increasingly, the business is finding that in Sioux Falls.

Over more than 70 years, the company has evolved with the needs of industry to provide electrical engineering, construction, instrumentation and control-system solutions to manufacturing and industrial clients.

“This is a company filled with high-level talent, and the fact that Interstates is able to source so much of the workforce needed to support its growth in Sioux Falls is a testament to what this area collectively has achieved,” said Bob Mundt, president and the CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It’s a terrific example of the kind of exciting career and positive culture that awaits graduates and talent of all career stages, and we’re anticipating many more opportunities for Interstates to grow in our community.”

While it’s based in Sioux Center, Iowa, Interstates has grown its workforce in Sioux Falls thanks to intentional partnerships and investment in its employee experience and culture.

Here’s a closer look at the business, courtesy of CEO Scott Peterson.

Business name: Interstates.

Year founded: Interstates was founded as Johnny’s Electric by John A. Franken in 1953. In 1967, it was renamed to Interstates Electric & Engineering, which later became Interstates as it’s known today.

Year operations began in Sioux Falls: 1999.

Total employees in the Sioux Falls area: We have over 200 team members in the Sioux Falls area and nearly 1,500 globally.

CEO/lead executive in Sioux Falls: Scott Peterson, CEO.

How would you describe your organization to someone not familiar with it?

Interstates partners with industrial and manufacturing clients to design, build, automate, maintain and protect their facilities.

This is everything from project inception to ongoing facility operations and maintenance.

What are the top three reasons you continue to locate in the Sioux Falls area?

The strength of the workforce here is incredible, and the proximity to strong universities and technical schools allows us to stay connected with them.

The Sioux Falls area also allows us to continue to grow our presence in the South Dakota industrial space.

What are you most proud of within your business in the past year?

Over my career as a whole, and especially in the last year, our culture and our team members are what make me most proud. Our Family Core Value is a strong part of our organization. Our safety program ties closely to this in the way we care for and watch out for each other. Last year, we reached a million hours worked without a recordable injury. This is the fourth time we’ve done that, which is very rare. Fewer than 100 contractors have reached this milestone.

In the last year, I’ve watched our team members live out our culture in multiple ways. They’re leaning into our You Matter, I Care program, which promotes the importance of both physical and mental health, and they are driving forward our Engage program as individual teams lead service projects and regularly plug into their local communities.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your business?

Due to the nature of our work, we’ll likely see unique challenges in different areas of the organization. Keeping up with the demand for our field and professional workforce is and will continue to be one of our biggest challenges.

We’re always looking to bring great people into the organization. We’ll also be supporting our clients as they navigate digital transformation within their industries. As the construction world shifts to more off-site construction, we’re on the path to changing the way we work to rise to that challenge and help our clients be successful.

How would you describe the culture of your business in three words?

Empowering servant leaders.

For context, our team members are the heart and soul of our organization and have driven the success of the company by how they live our culture. No matter the role they hold at Interstates, they lead from where they are and truly serve one another, our clients and our communities.

Why does your business choose to invest in Forward Sioux Falls?

We believe in investing in the communities where we live and work. Forward Sioux Falls is preparing the community for the future and growth. Specifically, we appreciate the way Forward Sioux Falls walks alongside businesses as we manage environmental challenges and secure skilled workers.

What specific advantages or values have you found to partnering with Forward Sioux Falls and its programs?

The programs that Forward Sioux Falls has put in place around training the current workforce and developing future talent continue to enhance the strong workforce in the Sioux Falls area. Because of our shared focus on technology and innovation, Forward Sioux Falls keeps us connected to the growing technology community as well.

What are your expectations for your business in the year ahead?

Overall, we’re expecting 2024 to be a strong year. Our clients across the U.S. are in relatively strong markets, and we’re seeing good activity and growth. We’ll continue to strengthen those relationships in the year ahead. As always, we’ll continue to invest in our people and our culture. Most recently, we had an 87 percent companywide engagement score and have consistently exceeded the industry average. This is something we’re proud of, and our focus will remain on supporting and serving our team members.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

Krysta Widman had a theory – and the human resources manager headed to the production floor to prove it.

“When I first started working here nearly a decade ago, we didn’t have any women in production or really out in the plant,” said Widman, who works at Gage Brothers, a Sioux Falls-based leader in precast concrete construction.

“Women mostly only worked in the office, and I really wanted to see more women working here.”

So after giving birth to her son, she came back from maternity leave and for one day took on a new job at Gage.

“We always said that to do this job you had to lift 50 to 100 pounds, and what we found out is you actually don’t have to be super strong to do this job,” Widman said.

“You’re not lifting 50 to 100 pounds on a regular basis. You’re lifting 20 to 30 pounds. And I said, ‘If I can do this job, anyone can do this job.’ Was I sore? Oh yes. It was not easy, but the supervisors and a bunch of other people were coming up to me and saying, ‘Wow, good job.’”

After a day pulling steel cables – “the most difficult part of the job but very possible” – putting bricks into place using form liners and tying rebar, she and the company realized “it’s really not that physical of a job,” Widman said. “What we saw helped us start getting more women in the door.”

Fast-forward, and Gage now counts more than 10 percent of its production team as female – with about 30 women working on the floor.

“I’ve been to precast plants literally all over the country and some in Europe, and I don’t see women working on the floor,” president Joe Bunkers said. “It’s very predominantly male-oriented, and very intentionally we moved the needle.”

Beginning with construction of the new plant in northeast Sioux Falls several years ago, Gage put in a full-size set of restrooms and locker rooms for women. The equipment, technology and layout were chosen so they could be flexible for men and women “of all shapes and sizes that come to work,” Bunkers said.

“This is not as labor-intensive as it used to be. And today, you don’t notice a difference whether it’s men or women doing the work. And actually – women are some of our best employees. They’re awesome. I don’t mean to stereotype, but they often bring a different level of detail. They do well in quality control. The head of our steel shop is a woman who was promoted from working as a welder in fabrication. So it’s been awesome to see.”

Gage worked with a consultant to evaluate each job and adjust job descriptions to reflect more accurate physical demands.

As it turned out, finding women to apply for the jobs “was actually incredibly easy,” Widman said. “We already had women interested in working here who had gotten turned away because they didn’t have the experience or we’d say they needed to lift up to 100 pounds. So we had a list of people interested, and once we hired one person, it was like a flood of women working here.”

Nearly all female employees were referred by another woman, she said.

“And I wish we had even more, but we are getting more women all the time,” she said. “Those who are here have gained the respect of everyone, and I think it’s been beneficial for the whole team to give them another perspective. It’s helped women move up. It’s helped single mothers make it out of really tough situations, and it’s helped women move into jobs that pay much more than they were making before.”

Gage Brothers also has worked to remove one of the biggest barriers to women and men working: child care.

“We have many situations where both mom and dad might be working for us as well, so we have reimagined our work schedule to support it,” Widman said. “We’re working four 10-hour shifts in more production positions with staggered start times, which allows someone to see the kids off to school and someone else to pick them up at night and have family time. And we have a lot of people who now are working the same shift, where before dad might have been working during the day and mom at night.”

The company also scaled back its use of overtime, which had created challenges with finding child care, and increased its parental leave benefits.

“We’re trying to get more people back into the workforce by making schedules that work for families,” Widman said. “We used to use overtime so much that I wouldn’t have thought we could get away from it like this, but now we’re actually pouring more yards in less time. I think it’s because people are able to have a three-day weekend, and that’s significant.”

She also has helped families find child care options, including many who require Spanish-speaking providers – a gap “that’s very difficult but where there’s also a huge entrepreneurial spirit and a market to be reached and given resources,” she said.

All the efforts have added up to a noticeable, positive shift for the Gage Brothers workforce.

“Once you start to have more women working, you can start to promote them as they demonstrate skills and capabilities, so I’m really excited to see how this is going to grow,” Bunkers said, adding he has two female vice presidents and two male vice presidents on his leadership team.

“It’s truly from the top that we believe in this also,” he said.

The best practices modeled by Gage Brothers “are outstanding,” said Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. “This is exactly what we need employers to be inspired by and motivated to embrace. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but the approach Gage is taking shows what’s possible when you think differently and are willing to make positive change.”

The relationship Gage Brothers has built with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and Forward Sioux Falls has been beneficial, Bunkers said.

“We get to be part of a bigger plan because of it,” he said. “We’re learning ideas from others and working with them to reach out to schools and tell the story of what opportunities exist here.”

Back at the plant, Widman sees signs of the changes that have occurred constantly.

One supervisor’s response in particular comes to mind.

“He can be kind of a gruff guy and one I thought maybe would have been against having more women in the workforce, and now he has two female leaders on his team and is developing them,” she said. “The other day, he came in my office and said: ‘You know how women work here? It’s a good idea.’ And now, we have women who are supervisors and moving into leadership positions. It’s been incredible.”

To learn more about opportunities at Gage Brothers, click here.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.