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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - OCTOBER 2012
T
HE W. MCKEE
Manufacturing story be-
gan in 1969, when Farmtool and Machine
was created by Barney and Howard Stuppard.
Two years later, Wayne McKee started working
for the company, and just one year later, pur-
chased it.
Farmtool and Machine moved to Red Deer
in 1976 and in 1985, its name was changed to W.
McKee. The company has expanded its facilities
five times, most recently adding two bays in 2006.
The company has built an impressive number of
manure spreaders: the count currently stands at
800
including fully and standard hydraulic ma-
chines and custom built units.
McKee is officially celebrating its 40th
birthday this year. CIO caught up with Morgan
McKee, Corporate Affairs Director for the McKee
team, and learned how the company has man-
aged its growth in Red Deer over the years, while
maintaining a reputation for product excellence.
CIO
:
Why did the company originally start?
How was it determined that there was a need for
your services?
Morgan McKee
:
Wayne felt that he could
create a viable alternative to the “big business”
providers of manure spreaders by creating a
hand-crafted product that was more durable and
easier to fix than the other offerings in the market.
CIO
:
Who was the original customer base?
MM
:
Our earliest customers included cus-
tom feedlot cleaners: Art Jarvis and Dave Millar
(
Davron) were some of our earliest customers.
CIO
:
What are the key ingredients that have
contributed to McKee’s growth?
W. MCKEE MANUFACTURING
