Manufacturing  November 17, 2021

Amundson: Walker Manufacturing sees peak demand, inability to deliver

TIMNATH — My son and grandson — who likes all things mechanical — toured Walker Manufacturing Co. a couple of months ago. Walker produces commercial lawn equipment.

I’m not sure who was more impressed. My grandson, who is only 3, jabbered about the machines; my son wanted to buy one for use in his yard. If only his yard were bigger …

Ken Amundson

Walker is among virtually all American manufacturing companies to face intense headwinds caused by the supply-chain issues afflicting the country. Bob Walker, along with his brother Dean, operate the company as they await a transition to the third generation of the family to take the reins.

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The situation facing Walker Manufacturing, according to a conversation I had with Bob Walker this week, is that demand for the company’s products are “higher than ever before.” Yet because of the pandemic-induced supply-chain problem, the company is unable to deliver all that it could sell.

Instead, it has to more or less ration who will be able to buy and when the products can be delivered.

Dealers who have showrooms may not be able to stock them with high-tech lawn and snow machines because that inventory needs to be available for customers.

The company has not shut down production, but it has curtailed what it otherwise might do, Walker said. Multiple pieces of equipment are partially assembled as they await delivery of parts, particularly fuel-tank components and rubber products such as tires. “Our small tires are produced in Taiwan and are somewhere enroute,” Walker said.

Walker said the company has not had too much difficulty finding workers, although he said the company experienced “a dry spell” in June or July this year, which opened up again thereafter. Because the company is located along Harmony Road east of Fort Collins and sees a lot of traffic, Walker used what might be described as “Burma Shave” signs to tout the benefits of working for the company. 

Burma Shave was a shaving-cream company that used an advertising technique that employed multiple, white letters on red background signs planted in a row to deliver its message. The last Burma Shave signs were used in 1963, although other companies have used the technique since.

Walker said the company, which employs just more than 200 employees and has had only one layoff in its history — since 1974 in Colorado — was able to keep people working throughout the slowdown in activity this year. It typically adjusts pay for workers in January but this year also provided a bonus adjustment midyear. 

“We can’t compete with construction or the oil and gas industry, but we can provide consistent, continuous year-around work for people,” Walker said. “We try to offer a fair wage and a steady job.”

Walker said he’s an optimist about the economy and when conditions will improve. “People are coming to realize that with COVID, it’s going to take awhile for things to come back.”

Ken Amundson is managing editor of BizWest. He can be reached at kamundson@bizwest.com.

TIMNATH — My son and grandson — who likes all things mechanical — toured Walker Manufacturing Co. a couple of months ago. Walker produces commercial lawn equipment.

I’m not sure who was more impressed. My grandson, who is only 3, jabbered about the machines; my son wanted to buy one for use in his yard. If only his yard were bigger …

Ken Amundson

Walker is among virtually all American manufacturing companies to face intense headwinds caused by the supply-chain issues afflicting the country. Bob Walker, along with his brother Dean, operate the company…

Ken Amundson
Ken Amundson is managing editor of BizWest. He has lived in Loveland and reported on issues in the region since 1987. Prior to Colorado, he reported and edited for news organizations in Minnesota and Iowa. He's a parent of two and grandparent of four, all of whom make their homes on the Front Range. A news junkie at heart, he also enjoys competitive sports, especially the Rapids.
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