Hammond company’s role in ‘feeding the world’
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Whether you know it as an auger, or as a screw conveyor, chances are the breakfast cereal you eat, or the grain fed to livestock, passed through a device manufactured by a company based in Hammond. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report Screw Conveyor Corp. is marking its 90th year as one of the leading manufacturers of the cylindrical device in the U.S.
The company manufactures bulk materials handling equipment like screw conveyors, bucket elevators and drag conveyors.
Much of the equipment produced by Screw Conveyor is used in food processing and serves some of the biggest names in household goods.
“Our company base is worldwide. We’ve sold significantly to General Mills and Kellogg’s,” said CEO and third-generation owner Garry Abraham. “I would say about 65% to 70% of the products we sell are used for some type of food consumption, whether human consumption or food animal feed that will eventually result in food for human consumption.”
While the company touts its role in ‘feeding the world,” Abraham said equipment diversity outside the food space has contributed to the company’s longevity.
“Our products are used throughout much of industry,” said Abraham. “We’ve sold to wood processors like Georgia Pacific. We’ve sold to chemicals processing and waste management for all the goo and stuff that comes out of the waste chain.”
The company was founded in 1932. The founder, Clarence Abraham, and four others worked for a manufacturer in Chicago, but then set out on their own during the height of the depression.
“It was trying as it was the heart of the depression,” said Abraham. “Years ago, when we celebrated our 60th anniversary, my father checked with Dunn and Bradstreet and asked the historian how many businesses started in the heart of the depression survived. They didn’t have specific records, but he said damn few.”
The company maintains its corporate headquarters in Hammond where it also manufactures bucket elevators. Its largest plant is in Mississippi. It also has plants in California and Mexico.
Click here to access the full story from Joseph Pete and The Times of Northwest Indiana.