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Company announces move to Minnesota
McCOOK, Nebraska -- Employees of a local manufacturing company were recently given 30 days notice that the company was being relocated to Minnesota.
The 15 employees of Springer Magrath also were given severance packages, and some have expressed interest in transferring to Minnesota, "but we are still working through that decision process with interested parties," said Amy Scheel, vice president of Springer Magrath's parent company, Frandsen Corp., Eagan, Minnesota.
The company announced Thursday that Springer Magrath would be relocating its headquarters from McCook to Glencoe, Minnesota, later this month.
The McCook company, which manufactures and distributes stock prods and veterinary supplies, was purchased by Frandsen Corp. of North Branch, Minnesota in 2007.
"Over the years, daily operations continued in McCook successfully as a result of the dedication and efforts of the employees there," according to the release. "Because it has become increasingly difficult to maintain operations from such a long distance, Frandsen Corp. made the difficult decision to move the company to Minnesota."
"We value the connections we made in McCook and regret the necessity to move due to distance," said Springer Magrath President Dan Ferrise. "Springer Magrath has been part of the McCook community for over 40 years, so this decision was extremely difficult to make."
Rex Nelson, executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp., said "it is deeply disappointing to lose a great home-grown business such as Springer-Magrath. As recently as last January, we had visited the plant and at that time, did not find any indication of an imminent plant closure, although many of us have held a cautious view of the situation, knowing that they had been acquired by a larger competitor.
"Upon learning of what was happening, and not finding a way to prevent a closure, we then enlisted the Nebraska Department of Labor Quick Response team to assist those employees in making a smooth transition to other opportunities in the community. Hopefully, with unemployment in the area currently below 4 percent, other jobs will become available."
The MEDC, along with the Mid Plains Community College conducts regular business visits with key employers in the community, he said, one purpose being to detect early signs of a business leaving or closing, so that they can address the company's needs as early as possible with an eye toward helping them be successful here in McCook.
"It's unfortunate that our office learned of this situation just last week when it was far too late to see what we, as a community, could do to continue our long partnership with the Springer Magrath Co.," said Pam Harsh, executive director of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce.
"We encourage businesses and individuals to contact us if they become aware that this type of situation is 'out there.' There may not always be a good solution, but it would definitely be worth investigating all options to prevent a loss like this to our community," she said.
"The Springer Magrath Co. has been very successful in McCook for several decades, so we are, of course, saddened to see this happen."
Founded by Dr. Joe Magrath and Frank Brady as the Great Plains Co. in 1967, it became the Magrath Co. Inc. in the early 1970s, was purchased by Marlin Springer in 1990 to become the Springer Magrath Co., and was purchased by the Frandsen Corp. in 2007.
In 2006, the company agreed to pay a $451,000 civil penalty to the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce in connection with the export of cattle prods without the required licenses.
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