Spee-Dee-ing toward a bigger future

BY MICHAEL BURKE
Journal Times

Monday, April 7, 2008 10:14 PM CDT

YORKVILLE — More elbow room is already making a big difference for the growing Spee-Dee Packaging.

The privately owned manufacturer of filling and measuring equipment has been in Grandview Business Park for about a month since moving from 9950 Durand Ave.

The new location, at 1360 Grandview Parkway, has about 25,000 square feet — double that of the previous location. The warehouse is no longer separate from everything else.

With all operations under one roof and twice the space, the surge in efficiency has been remarkable, said David Navin, who is in charge of business development.

David Navin of Spee-Dee Packaging operates a 3500 series auger filler that is typically used to fill powdered food products. Spee-Dee Packaging makes equipment used to measure and fill dry products in consumer-size containers. Journal Times photo by Scott Anderson

“Before, we were fighting for space,” said Navin, son of company owner James Navin.

Now there is plenty of room, manufacturing is done in assembly cells and equipment order turnaround time has been trimmed.

“(The move) has already increased production dramatically ... throughout the organization,” David Navin said.

The new layout also includes a spacious testing center. “We are now able to more closely simulate how our customers’ equipment will perform once it is fully operational within their facilities,” Navin said. “The additional space will also allow us to integrate complementary equipment such as conveyors, check weighers and in-feed systems from other manufacturers.”

Spee-Dee makes equipment to measure and fill consumer-size containers such as bags, pouches, cans and cartons with dry products. The firm’s customers include companies in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, with clients such as General Mills, Kraft Foods and Quaker Oats.

Spee-Dee was a product line of Franklin Electric. When Franklin was leaving the area, Navin bought the line to make it a separate company.

For the components it supplies to packaging lines, Spee-Dee is the market leader in the United States and one of the world’s leaders, David Navin said.

It is also rapidly growing. In the past year, employment has climbed from about 30 to 42 people. The company expects to add five to 10 employees a year over the next three years, Navin said.

The jobs at Spee-Dee fall across a wide spectrum. “One reason we chose to stay in the area was because of the current employees,” Navin said.

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