Sioux Falls.Business Asks about the Future Plans at DeGeest
Jodi Schwan of Sioux Falls.Business records her conversation with Derek DeGeest in the article below about the completion of a 133,000 square foot building expansion which features one of the largest fully automated robotic wet-coat paint systems in the region.
When asked, “What is new at DeGeest Steel Works?” Derek’s genuine response was, “Wow, you caught us in the middle of a transformational year! Where do I start?”
From bringing new robotic technology to the USA, to debuting a robotic application to the paint-coatings industry, Derek covers many of the recent happenings at DeGeest Steel Works.
"We had a goal of doubling our capacity by the spring of 2019. We are ready to partner with new customers looking for a full-service, cost-effective production part supplier. By equipping our shop with technology to stay competitive, we continue to bring new capabilities and value to our customers." Derek DeGeest, President of DeGeest Corporation and LestaUSA
We had a goal of doubling our capacity by the spring of 2019.
If you want a glimpse into the future of manufacturing, look no farther than DeGeest Steel Works Co.
President Derek DeGeest was named small-business person of the year for South Dakota earlier this year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, capping off a period of significant success and transition.
His grandfather Clint founded the company as DeGeest Manufacturing in 1976. The family-owned contract-job shop cuts, bends, welds, paints and assembles parts for equipment used in many different industries and which are shipped all over the world.
In 2013, the business moved to a new, larger building in Tea and rebranded as DeGeest Steel Works. Derek’s father, Scott, his brother and wife are all active in the company. They now specialize in automating complex and large carbon steel weldments for original equipment manufacturers, using a full line of robotic welders and a new automated robotic wet-coat paint system.
We caught up with Derek DeGeest to learn more about how the multigenerational company is positioning itself for continued success.
DeGeest is clearly a decades-long South Dakota success story, but what’s been happening recently? How is 2019 going for you?
Wow, you caught us in the middle of a transformational year! Where do I start?
We had a goal of doubling our capacity by the spring of 2019. We are ready to partner with new customers looking for a full-service, cost-effective production part supplier. By equipping our shop with technology to stay competitive, we continue to bring new capabilities and value to our customers.
The completion of our building expansion to 133,000 square feet brought space to feature one of the largest fully automated robotic wet-coat paint systems in the region, bringing new robotic technology to the USA and debuting a new robotic application to the paint-coatings industry.
We’ve added software capabilities and equipment – a fifth laser with twin storage towers, three more large robotic welding systems, six more manual welding cells and numerous proprietary mobile-software applications to connect our processes.
We are finding new ways to utilize our software development, data analytics, robotics and automation experience and applying them to all phases of our manufacturing process.
So to answer your question, a lot has been happening in 2019! It’s going to be a great year!
DeGeest has grown to 45 employees. As a third-generation leader, how are you trying to foster and evolve its culture?
Our family has always cared deeply for our employees and for the relationships we have built with our customers. We are very proud of the work we do together and for being able to serve many of the same companies for decades.
While the physical expansion was underway, our team led an organizational restructure to enhance our core values, develop our employees and to prepare our team for the growth we are experiencing. This has helped us empower our employees and start various committees and groups to work together to solve problems and make our shop processes and procedures better.
We will continue to look for ways to multiply the efforts of our experienced, talented, hard-working team.
What would you say it is about being located in Lincoln County that has allowed you to thrive as a business?
Lincoln County is a great place to do business. There is a large pool of talented people in Lincoln and Minnehaha County that want to do a good job and be a part of something bigger than themselves. This has allowed us to grow an extraordinary team.
The state, county and surrounding city organizations have been a great resource to help us grow. One example is the work we have been doing with the state Electrical Commission to create new electrical code that will keep manufacturing companies in South Dakota competitive and safe.
You’re also part of a state task force working with government and education to address workforce needs. What are some strategies you’d like to see further employed in this area?
As an industry, manufacturers need to continue to invest in their communities, facilities, equipment and technology to stay competitive and attract the next generation of manufacturers. There are amazing technology advances in manufacturing that are creating new jobs requiring new skills and making careers in manufacturing super cool.
We take time for school and club tours. In fact, it’s one of the highlights of my job to get these students into our facility to expose them to what modern manufacturing looks like and show them and their parents the career opportunities in manufacturing.
We are looking forward to working with U.S. manufacturers and helping them integrate robotic automation to their operations. This year will mark the beginning of an exciting new business venture for DeGeest Steel Works. We are excited to announce the opening of our new company, Lesta USA, made in partnership with our Italian auto-teach painting robot supplier Lesta Srl.
LestaUSA is the sole North American distributor, integrator and manufacturer of Lesta painting robots that feature a technology not currently available in the United States. This technology automatically captures the experience of a skilled painter in your paint department and instantly generates a robotic program without the need of any programming assistance.
This rapid automatic program generation and production technology makes robotic painting accessible to all mid to small manufacturers and will be a game changer for the U.S. manufacturing industry.
DeGeest Steel Works is developing new software solutions and designing part-handling systems to complement the Lesta painting robots for Lesta customers all over the world to continuously improve their robotic painting automation.
The interview was sponsored by Minnehaha County and Lincoln County Economic Development Associations. DeGeest is thankful for their continued support.