MiMfg Magazine
INDUSTRY
20
April 2018
Member
Spotlight
Andrew Brisson
Loadmaster
Member since in October 2016 • Employs 75 Michigan workers • Learn more at www.loadmaster.org
“
When you ask a small- to mid-sized
manufacturer to describe its company culture,
expect to hear the word “family” mentioned
somewhere in the response. At the same time,
the successful manufacturer is always looking for
new ways to improve its reputation, increase its
sales and become more competitive. Can a
company maintain its family feel even while
growing a global footprint? Does achieving one
limit the success of the other? Loadmaster is a
manufacturer of refuse collection vehicles in
Norway fully intent on achieving both.
“We’re a growing company with a vision for
the future, but it won’t come at the expense of
who we are today,” says Andrew Brisson, vice
president of Loadmaster. “It’s not cliché to call
ourselves a family, because that is who we are and
that’s what we’ve always been. I think it’s possible
to grow a business without losing what made the
brand special. I think we prove that every day.”
For Brisson and the Loadmaster team,
merging the traits of a large, increasingly global
company with a family-focused attitude comes down
to three key traits: knowing your team, knowing
your product and knowing your customer.
“My family have been manufacturers for
generations,” Brisson explains. “The industry is
part of who we are — I love what I do — and we’re
definitely working to surround ourselves with talented
men and women who love what they do too.”
The Loadmaster team, like most manufacturers,
takes incredible pride in their work. Featuring a
We’re a growing company with a vision for
the future, but it won’t come at the expense
of who we are today. It’s not cliché to call
ourselves a family, because that is who we
are and that’s what we’ve always been. I
think it’s possible to grow a business without
losing what made the brand special. I think
we prove that every day.
”
— Andrew Brisson, Loadmaster
skilled workforce and a wholly American-made
product, the manufacturer has begun diversifying
its product line over the years — requiring a new
set of talented workers to be hired.
“We’ve gone from a strict focus on rear-loader
vehicles to including the side-loader option and
now we are expanding the engineering team to
pursue opportunities with a front-loader product
line,” states Brisson. “Each step forward grows our
footprint and with each bit of momentum, we see
new success.”
Each product is made by skilled craftsman
and the results are eye-opening. The Loadmaster
product includes the largest hopper in the industry —
ideal for reducing blade cycling time — and an
overall quality and reliability that extends the life
of the vehicle long past their competition. The
company still faces challenges — Michigan’s long-
term struggle for talent, expanding into new
markets like the Northwest United States — but
one thing Loadmaster is confident in
is that no matter how big they get,
that family-first feel will remain.
“Nothing comes easy — you can’t
expect to succeed without putting in
the effort,” says Brisson. “We’ve had
success and we hope to have more,
but none of that would be possible
without everyone here believing it
was possible and working each day to
make it happen. This is why the
more we grow, the more Loadmaster
becomes a family — because we have
each had a hand in getting us to
where we are.”
Loadmaster recently received a patent for their “Sprocket
Lift Arm” which aids in easy, efficient pickup
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