ROUNDTABLE


Winona, where the business is headquartered and warehoused in Minnesota, because we are busting at the seams in our current building. We're excited about moving and I've got a lot


of products that I want to launch, but I just don't have the room to do it. I employ 23 people and we'll probably celebrate our milestone anniversary once we move into the new building, this summer.


OCH: What changes do you see in the future in this sector? SN: Our industry is not going to go away. As long as people are building things, maintaining buildings and construction sites, our industry is going to continue to be strong. The interesting developments are artificial intelligence and what that's going to bring to our market. But we don't know what will happen. No one has a crystal ball, but that's an interesting concept to see how companies are going to utilize that. The main trends I'm seeing when I go to shows


OZ lifting product line up


that precisely aligns with diverse and specialized needs.


OCH: What are the main challenges companies face today when it comes to lifting? Steve Napieralski, president, Oz Lifting: For any company in any industry, it's really the labor issue, of how to find people. Here at Oz Lifting, we've got plenty of staff, but I just was talking with my operations manager the other day and we said, you know, if we found the right person, we'd hire them immediately because for us it's a really important part of our culture. You could be the smartest person, but if you don't fit into our culture here, it just doesn't work. And we've had situations like that where we've had some people that are extremely talented, but they just couldn't fit our culture.


How do your lifting products compare to what’s out there on the market? SN: One of the things we've done since day one, and this year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary, so it’s pretty exciting, is that we still handle every order the same, whether it's coming from a big distributor or it's a small mom and pop shop. We treat every order the same and I think that has stood us well over these past 20 years. We were one of the first in the industry to


introduce CompOZite technology (made of Advanced Composite Material) and I've got three patents and a fourth one on the way. When I go to any tradeshows or when I'm talking with my colleagues, a lot of them will say to me that we are innovating like no other company, and that really is the other part of the business, when we introduce a new product, because we want to be innovative.


We want to solve a problem that's existed out


there and with what we do, the proof is in the pudding. Our sales have grown, we've increased 20% in the last three years. We ploughed right through Covid and it's because of that innovation. It’s that which separates us from a lot of the competitors. When I first started the business, it was strictly import - we were importing from China and my dream and goal was to be manufacturing products here in the United States. So now my business is about 60% import and 40% domestic that we're making here, and from a SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) count I would say we probably have approximately 900 SKUs.


It's been a very exciting time for us, and I just bought a 40,000 square foot building here in


like PROMAT and MODEX is that there are a lot more robotics appearing on the scene, which I think is the reason for the labor shortage. People are recognizing that you can buy a robot and it can work 24/7 and you don’t have to worry about hiring and firing employees, so you're seeing a lot more robotics coming onto the market.


OCH: What do you see as the challenges in overhead lifting today? Rob Beightol, director, marketing, Gorbel: No matter the size or industry, manufacturers have been having difficulty attracting and keeping skilled workers for many years. While some of the challenges have subsided in recent months, manufacturers are continuously looking for ways to be as productive as possible with the labor that is on hand. When it comes to overhead lifting and positioning of parts, equipment, and final goods, this means


Steve Napieralski, Oz Lifting 36 | Spring 2024 | www.ochmagazine.com


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