Orthman Celebrates Opening of New Plant

Orthman Manufacturing Inc. hosted an open house in July to showcase its new 115,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near Lexington, Neb.

Operations began in April in the new space, which was built from the ground up to handle welding, painting and assembly of mostly non-customized farm equipment.

Orthman will keep its former space and use it to build customized farm equipment.

President and CEO John McCoy, who bought the now 50-year-old company in 2000, said this investment is in anticipation of Orthman’s next 50 years.

“This is a turning of the page for the history book of Orthman Manufacturing,” he said. “We see this as a springboard for decades to come.”

Beet farmer Henry Orthman founded the company. He modified his farm equipment from the conventional center-mount to a three-point system and eventually began offering three-point hitch conversion kits commercially.

McCoy said the ingenuity of delivering new products and solving problems for producers was what led to the founding of the company and remains integral to its operation today.

Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley spoke at the event and said: “What I find most exciting about this plant is that the equipment that’s produced right here in Lexington, Nebraska, is going to be shipped, not only to farmers in Nebraska and across our own country, but also to many, many foreign countries in every corner of the globe.”

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