History Ted Bachhuber Employment Find Us Certificates and Awards Contract & Reloaders (920) 387-4500 Reloader Information reloaders@mayvl.com Contract Division contract@mayvl.com Employment jobs@mayvl.com General Information info@mayvl.com Web Page Problems webmaster@mayvl.com

The History Of MEC Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. was founded in 1945 by cousins Leo and Ted Bachhuber. The original manufacturing facility was a rented garage building in a back alley off Mayville's Main Street. Total assets of the company included a few worn metal working tools, a little cash, and an abundance of grand ideas. The original letterhead bore the title "Tools, Dies, and Special Machinery." For the first fledgling years, MEC concentrated on these products as well as offering their services to the larger manufacturers in the area. Soon Leo departed for other ventures, leaving Ted and his wife Grace to breathe life into their dream. Progress was slow in these formative years, but as the company became known for the quality of its products and the resourcefulness of its personnel, the pace quickened. Almost overnight, the company became desperate for additional production space to keep up with the growing demand for its products. MEC acquired a small warehouse adjacent to its rented garage, and later purchased a commercial building at 10 South Main Street where an office and assembly facilities could be established. The original MEC facility purchased in 1945 Due to continued strong growth, the company needed to expand even more. When the city offered MEC a parcel of land in its newly established industrial park, it was eagerly accepted. When the new plant was completed in 1963, it covered approximately 14,000 square feet and employed 26 people. Since those early days, MEC has grown considerably. Today the Mayville facility covers more than 350,000 square feet and employs over 800 people. The Beaver Dam plant, completed in early 1999, is approximately 163,000 square feet and houses the Aerial Work Platform Division with about 200 associated employees. The current MEC facility in Mayville, 1999. SHOTSHELL RELOADER DIVISION In 1955, MEC ventured into the shotshell reloader market, largely due to Ted Bachhuber's interest in sport shooting. In its infancy, the MEC-400 was the backbone of the product line. The MEC-250, released shortly after the MEC-400, was a customer favorite. By the 1960s, the popularity of plastic loads expanded, leading to the development of the MEC-600 Jr. which is still in production today. During its long history in the shotshell industry, estimates indicate MEC may have produced and sold more shotshell reloaders than all other companies combined. The Mark V and the MEC 9000 series are the two best selling loaders in MEC's current offerings. CONTRACT DIVISION While the reloader business flourished, MEC also continued to cultivate its contract offerings. From just a handful of small jobs in the early days, the Contract division has grown to serve world leaders in a variety of industries including communications, computers, agriculture, construction, and marine. The Contract division attributes their long history of success to their employees' service ethic. They pride themselves on getting customers to market in the shortest time possible. They design products and work closely with customers to improve designs so they can be consistently manufactured with minimal variation at the lowest overall cost. While toolmaking still remains an important segment of our business, diversification to other phases of metalworking has been one of the key's to the company's growth rate. In addition to an up-to-date and well-equipped Tool Room, Mayville Engineering Company can boast of a modern manufacturing facility capable of producing parts to our customers' precise specifications. We specialize in early design involvement and product development. To produce customers' products, we offer conventional and numerically controlled punch press stamping, shearing, sawing, laser cutting, brake press forming, drilling, tapping, grinding, CNC machining, welding, dip pre-treatment, electro-deposition "e-coating," wet spray painting, silk screening, assembly (including electro-mechanical assembly), and powder coating. For those services that are not provided in house, the Purchasing department manages a capable supplier base. This allows MEC to be a "one stop" manufacturer for our customers and has earned MEC a world-wide reputation for high quality manufacturing and services. The division augments these technical offerings with state-of the-art systems including: · Demand flow; · MRP II scheduling systems; · Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) which allows us to receive orders electronically from our customers; · Computer-aided design (CAD) stations that can be linked directly with our customers; · Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM); · Quality systems that allow us to report SPC information which can be electronically sent to our customers; · Electronic data collection that allows us to track orders throughout the shop. The current MEC facility in Beaver Dam, 1999. OUR ADVANTAGE MEC's competitive edge is clearly its imaginative, resourceful, and hard working employees. Any company can buy equipment and systems to produce parts, but they can't compete with what MEC offers its customers. Although numerous companies boast that their employees demonstrate the "pride of ownership," MEC's employees really ARE the owners. The idea of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan was considered a risky idea in business circles in 1985 when Ted Bachhuber implemented the idea. Soon after, employees began purchasing the company out of its operating income. These facts tell the story: · The employees currently own 91% of the company. · No employee owns more than 1%. · Sales have grown from $18 million to $123 million. · Stock price per share has risen almost 500%. A researcher for the Wisconsin Manufacturing Council recently assessed the success of the MEC Plan. "A sense of pride by the employees has played a key role in these successes. Productivity has soared since the employees assumed ownership. The company has wisely used the advantages of employee ownership to expand its operations." RECOGNITION Although we would rather have our actions speak for us, we appreciate the industry honors and customer awards our company has received (see Awards section of our web site). In February 1993 and again in February, 1996, MEC was named the Manufacturer of the Year receiving the Grand Award in the large size company category. This competition, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Association, and Virchow, Krause, & Company is held state-wide. An independent panel of judges, including leaders in business, education, and the business press evaluate all nominees. The Grand Award is based on the company's commitment to its employees, overall quality, export activity, and total growth. Mr. Jim Haney, President of the WMC said, "With all the talk about foreign competition, we tend to overlook the achievements of American manufacturers. Many of the world's most successful companies in their respective industries are right here in Wisconsin." Mayville Engineering Company was honored to be recognized as one of these firms. Transformed from that little garage shop of 1945, today MEC's products can be found on all seven continents with some of the largest sales to Egypt, Australia, Kuwait, China, Singapore, Germany, England, and Brazil. And we're proud to say the dream Ted Bachhuber nurtured so many years ago still lives today in the hearts of Mayville Engineering Company employees.