Vermette Machine Co. products move kegs, signs and other heavy items.
by Phillip Britt
If a company needs to lift an air conditioning or heating unit, multiple beer kegs or a variety of other materials, one of the first calls will likely be to Hammond-based Vermette Machine Co. Inc.
The company opened its doors in 1947 with one employee, Howard H. Vermette, the owner, product designer and manager. The first product was a power pipe threading machine, used by hardware stores and the plumbing trade.
The manufacturer of the power pipe threading machine required only a 20-by-30-foot location. The company incorporated and moved to a 50-by-50 building five years later, expanding the building multiple times to its current 42,000 square feet.
Vermette's business evolved from manufacturing the original pipe threading machine to a portable power drive for the plumbing trade before copper tubing and plastic pipe started dominating those markets.
The company's present products since 1962 are hand-operated fork lifts, jacks and winches for lifting and installation of materials used by heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, electrical, plumbing and general contractors in commercial and industrial buildings. On any day, the company is manufacturing or shipping its products to customers around the U.S. and in 53 different foreign countries.
Vermette also makes replacement parts for its devices, but they are well-built from the start, so units are in place for years and replacement parts aren't needed often.
One of the company's most popular products right now is the Vermette Keg Jockey, a needle loader bearing winch that does all the heavy (up to 400 pounds) lifting and moving of kegs, so employees don't have to strain themselves with the lifting. The Keg Jockey includes pneumatic tires and swivel casters for easy maneuvering, and is small enough to easily fit through doorways. The device includes a hook to lift the keg from the top for easier stacking.
While the Keg Jockey is one of the company's newer products, many of the company's other popular lift products, particularly those used in the HVAC industry, have been around since the 1970s, and are manufactured with equipment at least that old or older–one of the company's machines was built before the company was founded. The devices are also used to lift large signs, like those in front of buildings.
The two most popular lifts have capacities of 500 pounds and can lift materials up to 14 feet and 22 feet. Other models have higher load capacities. All of the lifts have sectional designs so that they can be dissembled and reassembled as necessary for easy maneuvering through buildings.
“When companies need something lifted, they come to us. If we don't have the right product, we see if we can make it,” says company president Joseph Geisen, who started on the assembly floor with Vermette 40 years ago. He took over the company's leadership after the death of Howard's wife in 1999, who had operated the company from the time of the founder's death in 1984. He and vice president Edward Hayes can be found doing various jobs in and around the building as well as attending to vendors, shipments and other management details of the employee-owned company.
“We do whatever needs to be done to keep the company running,” Geisen says.
The Keg Jockey was built to meet the needs of a particular customer. As soon as it was in use, other customers in the hotel, casino and liquor market wanted one or more. Vermette continues to look for other opportunities to make custom lift devices that can be developed for one customer and then brought out to a larger market.
