MoreChicago, IL-December 1, 2008-Chicago-based Tornado Industries and its parent company, Tacony Corporation announce that they will be relocating Tornado's inside sales, customer service, and production operations into new, state-of-the-art facilities.
The moves are part of a planned corporate expansion and are designed to help streamline business operations, while highlighting Tornado as Tacony's flagship commercial floor care brand.
Manufacturing, and warehousing, will be relocated to St. James, MO, near Tacony's head office in St. Louis. The company believes this centralized location in the heart of the United States will ensure that Tornado customers continue receiving speedy deliveries of products and equipment.
According to Michael Schaffer, Tornado's president, the new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility has been designed to be extremely cost-effective, utilizing advanced manufacturing technology that helps maximize worker productivity, allowing the company to better compete on a global scale.
"In fact, the facility is so efficient that production of our Riccar and Simplicity vacuum cleaners has moved to the U.S. from Taiwan, where they were previously manufactured," says Bill Hinderer, president of Tacony. "Now that we have doubled the size of our [St. James] facility, we can accommodate the production and distribution of Tornado's products here as well."
Tacony has already won several awards for its factory operations, which are considered some of the most sophisticated in the industry. Jim Fleming, Plant manager for the St. James facility said "We are proud to maintain world class quality levels that qualify us for ISO 9001 certification".
"This new [manufacturing] facility also has state-of-the-art testing capabilities, allowing us to thoroughly test our equipment in 'real life' situations," says Schaffer. "This will help us maintain our goal of producing a "best in class" product line."
Inside sales and customer service will move to a newly created call center located in Tacony Corporation's Dallas/Ft. Worth facility. Tornado's corporate offices will remain in Chicago, housing the company's marketing, purchasing, technical service, and other functions.
The moves are part of a planned corporate expansion and are designed to help streamline business operations, while highlighting Tornado as Tacony's flagship commercial floor care brand.
Manufacturing, and warehousing, will be relocated to St. James, MO, near Tacony's head office in St. Louis. The company believes this centralized location in the heart of the United States will ensure that Tornado customers continue receiving speedy deliveries of products and equipment.
According to Michael Schaffer, Tornado's president, the new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility has been designed to be extremely cost-effective, utilizing advanced manufacturing technology that helps maximize worker productivity, allowing the company to better compete on a global scale.
"In fact, the facility is so efficient that production of our Riccar and Simplicity vacuum cleaners has moved to the U.S. from Taiwan, where they were previously manufactured," says Bill Hinderer, president of Tacony. "Now that we have doubled the size of our [St. James] facility, we can accommodate the production and distribution of Tornado's products here as well."
Tacony has already won several awards for its factory operations, which are considered some of the most sophisticated in the industry. Jim Fleming, Plant manager for the St. James facility said "We are proud to maintain world class quality levels that qualify us for ISO 9001 certification".
"This new [manufacturing] facility also has state-of-the-art testing capabilities, allowing us to thoroughly test our equipment in 'real life' situations," says Schaffer. "This will help us maintain our goal of producing a "best in class" product line."
Inside sales and customer service will move to a newly created call center located in Tacony Corporation's Dallas/Ft. Worth facility. Tornado's corporate offices will remain in Chicago, housing the company's marketing, purchasing, technical service, and other functions.
