Company Profile
Honeyville Metal, Inc.

Reprinted from GRAIN JOURNAL July/August 2012 Issue

When Chris Hochstetler established Honeyville Metal, Inc. on his Indiana farm 62 years ago, he dreamed of running his own business that might help support others. It has, including some fourth generation family members today.

Chris, who passed away in 1990, started the company in 1951 to fill a need he saw in the community for a repair and fabrication shop. Today, his grandson, Mark Hochstetler, leads the family business. Mark grew up with the business and has been president since 1999 following in the footsteps of his father, Ora, who was the previous president and now serves on the board of directors.

Honeyville Metal, Inc. designs, fabricates, and installs dust collection systems and grain handling equipment for a variety of industries. It has grown a lot over the years and now has 76 employees including several family members.

“My grandpa was a farmer, but he had operated and rebuilt a feed mill, so he had some business experience, and the ambition to start a shop of his own,” says Hochstetler. “Within a couple of years, he asked my father, Ora (then 22), to join him in the business, which grandpa believed could support several families.

“His dream came true, and today, quite a few family members work here, including my son and some cousins who are fourth generation. Ownership includes family members, but we diversified in 1975 to also include other employees and investors.”

Why Honeyville?

“Our address is Topeka, IN, which is the nearest post office, but we are located in a rural area that has been known as ‘Honeyville’ since the late 1800s, when several farmers kept significant numbers of bee hives here,” explains Hochstetler.

“Even though the community was officially called ‘Schrock,’ everyone referred to it as ‘Honeyville.’ After my grandfather incorporated the business as ‘Honeyville Metal, Inc.,’ he even put in an application to officially change the name of the community to ‘Honeyville.’

“We’re located about 40 miles from Elkhart, IN and an hour from Fort Wayne, IN and South Bend, IN. It’s a good location for bringing in steel from Chicago,IL; Toledo, OH; Detroit, MI; and Cleveland, OH, as well as for shipping out merchandise on nearby I-80 or U.S. Highway 20. We’re the largest business in the area, although the community also has an active feed mill, an LP gas business, and several furniture and woodworking shops run by members of the area’s Amish community.”

Facility

”Our original site was a 1,920-sq.-ft. building at the front of my grandfather’s farm,” says Hochstetler. “In 1972, a new manufacturing plant was built across the road on land he also owned.

“We made significant additions to the facility in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1995. In 1998, we built a large warehouse, assembly, shipping, and receiving building, which then was doubled in size in 2007, with provision for future expansion. And in 2010, we added space in our manufacturing area for more automated machinery for cutting and punching, with work space for additional employees.

“Today, we have 141,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, and office space. Our world-class facilities are equipped with the latest metalworking machinery for cutting, punching, and forming steel.”

Built For Performance

“One thing we do differently is that we engineer products for a specific bushel capacity and try to sell models that leave some room for growth,” says Hochstetler. “We stay away from recommending models that must run at maximum capacity  during peak situations. This not only helps the grain flow better and causes less damage, but it also cuts down on equipment wear and extends the life of the product.

“Customers often remark about the performance of our products. Because we allow room for growth, it doesn’t max out the motor or draw too many amps.

“Most of our engineering is done in-house, and we offer some customization. We don’t just build items off the shelf; we adapt and add features to meet different needs. Our products include common industry practices, but we also include some practices that we think are important. The key is building a product that performs well, to meet the customer’s needs, and can be relied on to do the job quietly, effectively, and efficiently.

“We include as much American-made technology in our products as we can, which gives us an advantage over some other companies. The engineering and support that comes with domestic products wins 10 to one. It’s not about putting the cheapest part in a product but the best part in terms of performance, with a modest price.”

Customer Satisfaction

“We are dedicated to serving our customers, whether we’re designing a system, manufacturing its components, delivering it, or installing it,” says Hochstetler. “We recognize that our employees and dealers are our key assets – it’s even in our mission statement. Customers like to be able to call in and talk to a person who understands the product and can answer questions and address any situation that comes up.

“We also focus on giving realistic ship dates for our systems, and we strive hard to make complete deliveries. We ship the complete package together, not just part of it, so that customers have all the parts needed for installation. This simplifies everything, and dealers really appreciate not receiving bits and pieces and partial deliveries, which just makes everything confusing.”

Honeyville’s grain handling equipment is sold through a dealer network throughout the United States, with some sales going to Canada and overseas. “Our dealers have a sales staff, service department, installers, and some do electrical work, as well,” says Hochstetler. “In addition, we have two full-time sales reps who travel around the country working with our dealers and representing us at trade shows.”

Product Lines

“We have two distinct product lines – equipment for grain handling and for dust collection – but there is some crossover in the middle,” says Hochstetler. “The demand and workload is very strong, especially for grain handling. It’s good to be diversified, but sometimes it does create some operational challenges, in order to meet different time lines.

“On both sides of the business, we’ve expanded our lines to include more models and variations bringing new features to the market that appeal to customers. And we’re exploring adding more provisions for automation, as well as rearranging manufacturing within our buildings.”

Grain Handling

Honeyville’s range of grain handling products includes bucket elevators; distributors; U-trough screw conveyors; horizontal, incline, and bin-unloading drag conveyors; catwalks; and support towers.

“Grain handling equipment makes up the greater percentage of our business, and we focus on conveying equipment, which is our forte,” says Hochstetler. “We make products suited for seasonal use on the farm, as well as heavier-duty equipment designed for industrial situations, where it may run 24/7.

“We’ve seen a shift from customers using mostly screw conveyors to using more chain-type drag conveyors. Moving grain with a paddle and chain causes less damage to the grain, saves on horsepower, and is quieter. That line is becoming a key product for us, both for farm and for commercial applications.

“In the 1990s, we began building our own distributors, which has been an important addition for us. Our distributor incorporates some unique features that customers really like.

“We’re continuing to grow in some areas. For example, as larger conveyors are available, there a need for heavier conveyor supports and support towers, so we’re expanding those lines.”

Dust Collection

Honeyville’s dust collection products include fans, cyclones, baghouse filters, airlocks, suction and blow pipe systems, and other components for use in grain elevators, seed houses, feed mills, and other industries.

“Dust collection remains a significant portion of our business,” continues Hochstetler. “We make a line of industrial equipment used in agriculture and other markets. From the 1970s through the 1990s, we had a strong presence in woodworking, but in the 2000s, we’ve gone more to dust collection for the grain industry.

“We have AMCA certification for our air handling systems, which adds credibility to the performance of our products. We are looking to expand this side of the business and see a lot of opportunity in helping clients meet OSHA’s environmental requirements for air quality.”

Honeyville Metal, Inc. also produces a large inventory of parts, components, and accessories for its equipment lines, as well as round economy and square bulk feed bins in a range of sizes.