Grand Opening for Northfield Facility Expansion

On August 20, NPK Construction Equipment employees, family members, members of the community, and visitors from NPK Japan gathered together to celebrate the grand opening of the newly expanded Northfield Road location.  NPK is a leading manufacturer of hydraulic hammers, plate compactors, and other construction and demolition attachments for excavators.  Additionally, NPK designs and manufactures pedestal booms systems and hardcar unloaders which can be customized for customers’ exact needs. Most recently, NPK teamed up with German mining equipment manufacturer Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik to break into the mining industry by distributing and supporting a variety of underground mining vehicles including mining scalers, underground haul trucks, LHD loaders, personnel transporters, and other mine utility vehicles.

The plan for the addition was drafted to expand the area for the assembly of NPK products.  An area with an elevated roof was included in the plan specifically for the assembly and testing of the growing Pedestal Boom System department.  The project broke ground in September 2015 and by May 2016 the new addition was complete and the Assembly division was moved in.  Moving the Assembly division into the new addition also allowed for the Machining division to be integrated into the main production building.  After updates to the foundation, the Machining division’s equipment was moved into the former assembly area throughout July and into early August.  Having the Machining division in house, running two shifts has allowed for reduced lead times for NPK products and replacement parts.

The event started with tours of the Northfield road facility which is made up of three divisions: Manufacturing, Machining, and Assembly.  Guests were able to see what comes from the all of the hard work that their friends and family put in everyday at NPK.  High points included the welding robots in the Manufacturing division, the large CNC machines in the Machining division, and several finalized products set up throughout the Assembly division area.  On display were several models of hydraulic hammers and plate compactors, a U21J concrete crusher, a B040 pedestal boom system, and a 1253 mining scaler.

After the tours, guests made their way to the cafeteria where NPK President, Dan Tyrrell, gave an informative presentation covering the history of NPK.  He began by introducing special guests: Marlene Anielski, Ohio House Representative from District 6; Kevin Hurst, Mayor of Walton Hills; Denny Linville, Walton Hills Councilman; members of the Walton Hills police force, and visitors from Japan: Mr. Morita, Mr. Fujii, and Mr. Honda.  He then graciously accepted a commemorative plaque awarded to him by Mayor Kevin Hurst, and extended his thanks to all of the managers that played an important role in the planning an execution of the expansion.

Highlights of the history of NPK begin with its establishment in 1923 in Japan.  In 1961, the first boom mounted pneumatic hammer in the world was developed by NPK, which was followed quickly by the development of hydraulic hammers in 1972.  NPK expanded its reach to Europe in 1978 when it opened a plant in Rotterdam.  NPKCE in Walton Hills opened its doors in 1985 breaking into the American marketplace.  Over the next two decades, several new NPK facilities opened in France, the Czech Republic, the Middle East, and throughout Japan further expanding the global reach of NPK.

Closer to home, NPKCE has had its share of growth as well.  At its establishment in 1985, NPK had only 6 employees.  As business grew, NPK purchased what is now known as NPK Manufacturing in Wickliffe in 1989 boosting the number of employees to 45.  This acquisition allowed for more of the product line to be manufactured here in the United States.  As business continued to grow, a second building was needed for assembly in Walton Hills.  It started with the lease of half the building in 1992, the purchase of the entire building in 1996, and adding an addition in 2001 leading the number of employees to grow to 81.  With the ever increasing demand, NPK Manufacturing outgrew the facility in Wickliffe leading to the purchase of a new factory in Walton Hills in 2009 that was large enough to house both the Manufacturing and Assembly divisions.  In 2012, NPK DemoTrax opened its doors in Norcross, Georgia providing a full-service sales, service and rental facility for construction and demolition equipment and growing the number of employees to 86.  Then in 2013, NPK purchased its long time machining partner in Garfield Heights creating the Machining division and expanding the employee count to 102.  Finally, in 2016 NPK completed the addition to the Northfield road facility allowing for all factories to be in one centralized location, optimizing production times.  Today, NPK has 108 full time employees and 3 part time/contract employees.  Over 85,000 parts are shipped throughout North and South America each year.  NPK goes through over 2 million pounds of steel, 5,000 miles of welding wire, 3,400 machining inserts, and 1,000 gallons of paint annually. 

After the presentation it was time to eat!  The event was catered by Food for Thought, and while everything was delicious, the star of the show was the pig which was roasted to perfection.  Also on the menu was grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, baked beans, coleslaw, watermelon and an array of cookies and a cake for dessert.  Once everyone had their fill, the celebration moved to Whirlyball Cleveland where the fun and games began.  Whirlyball is a combination of jai alai (lacrosse), basketball, and hockey with the players on bumper cars.  The goal is to take a whiffle ball from one end of the floor to the other and hit a target cut out of a backboard suspended ten feet above the ground.  In addition to whirlyball, guests could suit up for a round of laser tag, hit the lanes for a game of bowling, or shoot a game of pool.  Employees, family, and friends played into the night.  Fun was had by everyone in attendance and the as the evening wrapped up, all would agree that the day was a complete success.

 

To see more pictures from the grand opening event, visit and "Like" Npk's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NPK-Construction-Equipment-106785618621/

Framing for the new addition to NPK's Northfield facility - October 2016

The final product. Npk's finished Northfield Road facility addition

Mayor of Walton Hills presenting plaque to NPK's president

Visitors from NPK Japan

NPK President, Dan Tyrrell, with members of Walton Hills' city council

NPK PH series hydraulic hammers with varying top brackets

Whirlyball following NPK's Northfield expansion Grand Opening

Bowling following NPK's Northfield expansion Grand Opening