Salford Group has expanded its U.S. manufacturing operations in Osceola, Iowa by 36% to keep up with growing demand for its tillage and fertilizer application products. 

This expansion is the latest of a series of capital investments Salford has made in its manufacturing operations, including a 54,000 square foot addition to the Ontario, Canada facility in 2012. The Iowa expansion brings Salford's total manufacturing space to over 200,000 square feet in its U.S., Canadian and Russian production facilities combined. 

The expansion will allow for increased production of Salford's patented Independent Series tools, which are designed for high speed soil and residue management as well as fertilizer application. The additional space will also add capacity to the Iowa parts distribution center (PDC), which is one of the main hubs for the six PDCs that Salford maintains in North America. 

"Phase one of the expansion has been additional warehouse space for our PDC," says Brad Baker, manufacturing and operations manager at Salford. "We know that all too often the window of opportunity for the maximum yield is short. As our products get onto more farms we're committed to ensuring our dealers and their customers have parts available to keep operating so they don't miss that window," says Baker. 

In the second phase of the expansion, Salford is planning capital investments that will further increase production capacity in Iowa and improve parts availability. "We're also adding a powder coat line and making other scheduled improvements to our Iowa facility this year. As these investments come online there will be additional employment opportunities opening up as well," says Randy Beckett, Plant Manager at the Iowa facility. 

Salford's dealer network has expanded rapidly in the Midwest Region of the U.S. over the last decade and increasing sales of Salford products led to the opening of the Iowa production facility in 2006. 

In a recent survey, dealers of Salford equipment attributed Salford's continued growth to a customer orientated approach to product development. This is made possible by Salford's responsive and innovative engineering and manufacturing practices.