Ground-breaking on New Orthman Manufacturing Building

A ground breaking ceremony was held Wednesday on the site of a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for Orthman Manufacturing Inc. on 28 acres in southeast Lexington, Neb. The expansion will produce 100 new jobs in the community. Construction is scheduled to be complete by August 2013. The ground-breaking included John McCoy and Bill Orthman from Orthman Manufacturing, BD Construction president Mark Benjamin, Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy and Senate candidate Deb Fischer, as well as other dignitaries and area development leaders.

Orthman President John McCoy said that the agricultural economy and Orthman’s continued growth domestically provided the basic platform to invest in the new facility. “The added capacity will allow us to competitively supply our agronomy-based technology into the industry that is feeding the world, keeping them efficient,” McCoy said. BD Construction President and CEO Mark Benjamin said that BD Construction is proud to be a part of the continuing economic development of the Lexington community. “This new manufacturing facility will propel Orthman’s success as it continues to be a leader in the manufacture of agricultural equipment,” Benjamin said. The new, 115,000-square-foot facility will operate in tandem with Orthman’s existing northeast Lexington facility. Once the new plant is complete, the company will move part of its operations to the new facility. Orthman will continue to use its second facility northeast of Lexington, but has agreed to give the city its building east of Lexington to be used as a speculative industrial building.