Web exclusive posted March 17, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. CST

New designs and technological advances in bulk storage and reclaim units have resulted in a two-phase expansion project at Laidig Systems Inc. in Mishawka, Ind.

The office and engineering department of the facility will increase by 9,000 square feet, and the manufacturing area will increase by 40,000 square feet. "We have begun the first part [of the expansion]," confirmed Roger Laidig, senior vice president. "The second part will begin in a few months."

The company's continued growth is the result of a strongly focused business plan, said Wyn Laidig, president. "We keep growing because we are dedicated to solving significant problems for our customers," he said.

Laidig Systems has been in the business of developing automated storage and reclaim systems since 1961 and is a well-known provider of dry-bulk silo reclaimers worldwide. "We're pioneers in our industry," Wyn Laidig said. "That means we have to view difficulties as opportunities rather than obstacles."

The company's research and testing has resulted in the development of systems that are well-suited for the storage and reclaim of grain meals, wood products, powders, biomass and other hard-to-handle bulk solids. "Our expertise in the ethanol industry is providing the storage silos and the reclaimers," Roger Laidig said. He said the company designs, markets, manufactures, and services a wide range of storage and reclaim systems, and the expanded space will allow for business to proceed on target.

The expansion comes only four years after the last major expansion, which increased the facility by 50 percent.