MEC established its shotshell reloader division in 1955.

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The Mayville Engineering Company (MEC), founded in 1945, went from a garage building with worn metalworking tools and little cash to an international firm whose products are found in countries such as Egypt, Australia, Kuwait, China, Singapore, Germany, England and Brazil.

“We’re proud to say the dream of [founder] Ted Bachhuber nurtured so many years ago still lives today in the hearts of Mayville Engineering Company employees,” the company says.

The company is made up of its shotshell reloader and contract divisions. It has a 350,000-square-foot facility  with more than 800 employees in its headquarters in Mayville, Wis., the company says. Its Beaver Dam, Wis. plant is 163,000 square feet and holds the aerial work platform division, which has 200 employees.

Its employees were a major factor in that growth, it stresses. “MEC’s competitive-edge is clearly its imaginative, resourceful and hard-working employees,” it says. “Any company can buy equipment and systems to produce parts, but they can’t compete with what MEC offers its customers.”

The company implements an employee stock ownership plan, which encourages employees to care and work hard. Employees own 91 percent of the company and no employee owns more than 1 percent, it explains.

Sales grew from $18 million to $123 million and stock prices per share rose about 500 percent when this was established in 1985, according to MEC.

“A sense of pride by the employees has played a key role in these successes,” the Wisconsin Manufacturing Council said in a statement. “Productivity has soared since the employees assumed ownership. The company has widely used the advantages of employee ownership to expand its operations.”

“Any company can buy equipment and systems to produce parts, but they can’t compete with what MEC offers its customers,” MEC says.

“Although numerous companies boast that their employees demonstrate the pride of ownership, MEC’s employees really are the owners.”

Shotshell Reloader Division
MEC established its shotshell reloader division in 1955, mainly because one of founder Ted Bachhuber’s interests was sport shooting.
“In its infancy, the MEC-400 was the backbone of the the product line,” the company says. “The MEC-250, released shortly after the MEC-400, was a customer favorite.”

In the 1960s, the company introduced the MEC-600 Jr., to meet the demand for plastic loads. This product 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,” it says. “The Mark V and the MEC 9000 series are the two best selling loaders in MEC’s current offerings.”

The company currently has eight models, including the MEC Auto-Mate, 9000 series, 8567N Grabber, MEC 650N, Steelmaster, Sizemaster, 600 Jr. Mark K and Supersizer.

Contract Division
MEC stayed focused on increasing its contract offerings, even though the reloader business was flourishing.

“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 company says.

MEC attributes the success of its contract division to its employees.

“They pride themselves on getting customers to market in the shortest time possible,” the company says. “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.

“Our experienced team will assist [customers] in achieving the most cost-effective design and economical production methods for all contract metal-working requirements,” it adds.

The Division’s Services
The contract division offers:

• Design engineering – It uses CAD, CAM and 3-D and solid modeling for product design, tooling layouts and programming production machinery. “This integrated process delivers design instructions directly to the production floor,” the company says. “It ensures accuracy and consistency from design and prototype through final production,” it says.
• Pre-production prototype – Its compressed prototype lead times provide product designs with rapid turnarounds.
• Manufacturing – It offers a variety of metal-working services and high- to low-volume stamping, fabrications, machined items and painted products. “Our production teamwork builds quality into every part we make,” the company says. “Each production step – from the purchase of raw materials to delivery – is carefully monitored.”
• Assembly – Its value-added capabilities include welding, riveting, staking, pemming, painting and mechanical assembly.     “Skilled workers efficiently assemble, test and prepare final assemblies for shipment,” the company says. “Many of our customers find it cost-effective to have MEC provide complete fabricated and assembled products.”

‘One-Stop Manufacturer’
Being diversified in multiple phases of metalworking was one of the keys to MEC’s growth, it says.

The company has an up-to-date and high-tech tool room and a modern manufacturing facility that has the capability to produce parts that meet clients’ requirements.

“We specialize in early design involvement and product development,” it says. The company provides a variety of production services and a capable supplier base to offer services not provided in-house, it adds.

“This allows MEC to be a one-stop manufacturer for our customers and has earned MEC a worldwide reputation for high-quality manufacturing and services,” it says.

The company is ISO 9001 certified, it adds.

Ted Bachhuber
MEC was founded “in the fall of 1945 over a couple of beers and a handshake,” the company says.

Ted Bachhuber’s cousin Leo approached him about starting the business. At that time, Bachhuber had a full-time job in Milwaukee and served as a silent partner of MEC, the company says.

About a year later, Bachhuber and his wife Grace decided to move to Mayville and become more active in the business. His cousin then retired from daily operations. “Grace gets a great deal of credit for making the business successful,” Bachhuber said in a statement because she had previously been an office manager.

The early days of the company were difficult, he said. For example, at one time, its only four employees were “stolen” from a competitor and some people actively worked to see the company fail, he said. “Every day we kept the doors open was a victory,” he recalled.

Those challenges did not last long. “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,” the company says. “Almost overnight, the company became desperate for additional space to keep  up with the growing demand for its products.”

Hard work paid off in the end. “Ted was a master at seeing possibilities making them come true,” the company says. “He was always more enthusiastic about our success at MEC than he was his own.

“He appreciated us and believed we could do anything – and because he believed it, we did too.
“Ted always thought the best of people, worked for the best and expected the best,” the company continues. “He was forgiving of mistakes and helped us to see them without criticizing. He always pressed us to achieve the greatness he knew we were capable of.”

He was also generous to his community, it adds. “He supported his love of learning through many scholarships and his love of nature through many endowments,” the company says.

“Ted always shared what he had and kept his common spirit no matter how many riches he earned,” it adds. “His legacy has touched every one of us through MEC itself.”

Awards and Recognitions
MEC and its products have received several awards and recognitions. In 1998, Sporting Clays magazine named the MEC 650 as its favorite reloading machine in its Reader’s Choice Awards.

“Although we know that MEC makes the best reloaders on the planet, it is gratifying that so many customers agree,” MEC says. “More than any product we make, the reloaders represent the ‘Ted Bachhuber’ legacy of excellent design, manufacturing and service.

“We are renowned throughout the world for our great product and great treatment of customers,” it continues.

Also in 1998, the company was one of the three winners of the first annual Welding Achievement Award presented by the Welding Design & Fabrication magazine, it says.

MEC’s single-X scissor design received a first-place award at the 29th Annual Governor’s New Product Award program in 1998, sponsored by the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers. The program is designed to recognize manufacturers who contribute to the state’s growth through development, manufacturing and marketing of new and innovative products, the company says.

“The program was developed to focus on emerging technologies, recognize the contribution of engineers in new product development and encourage the pursuit of science and engineering careers,” MEC says.

MEC’s products’ unique design and features distinguished it from its competitors, the company says.

“Our design reduces the physical space of the elevating system and allows for improved serviceability of components,” MEC says. “The cylinder is placed on the outside of the scissors along the equalizer bar, thus preventing bowing.

“This space-saving design allows for easy access to the battery pack and opens an area on the base of the unit to place hydraulic and electrical components up front and accessible.”

The Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Association named MEC as the Manufacturer of the year in 1996 and 1993.

“Mayville Engineering Co. Inc. has flourished since its employees became part-owners over a decade ago, purchasing 40 percent of the company,” the association said in a statement regarding the 1996 award.

“With all the talk about foreign competition, we tend to overlook the achievements of American manufacturers,” said then-WMC President Jim Haney in a statement. “Many of the world’s most successful companies in their respective industries are right here in Wisconsin.”