Rice Lake Weighing Systems is an American multinational industrial scale manufacturer headquartered in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. An ISO 9001 certified company, Rice Lake Weighing Systems manufactures industrial scale and process-control equipment for a variety of industries including agriculture, food and beverage processing, forestry, pharmaceuticals, retail, transportation, logistics and waste.
History
editIn 1945, Donald B. Johnson and Warren Thomas founded Thomas & Johnson Scale Service in St. Paul, Minnesota.[1] In 1946, they moved to Rice Lake, WI; an area with a high demand for scale service due to the dairies, creameries and railroads. Thomas & Johnson Scale Service became Rice Lake Bearing Inc. in 1971, as the company began to offer refurbishing services for pivots and bearings. In 1981, Donald B. and his son Mark became sole owners of the company. In 1986, the company changed its name to Rice Lake Weighing Systems. Today, Rice Lake Weighing Systems is the largest employer in the city of Rice Lake, WI with over 600 employees[2]
Locations
editThe Rice Lake Weighing Systems corporate headquarters, primary manufacturing facility and NVLAP accredited metrology lab are located in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
Jasper, Alabama
editRice Lake Weighing Systems acquired Powell Scale in 2005. The facility in Jasper is used for an expansion of the manufacturing of truck scales and other heavy-capacity products.[3]
Fernley, Nevada
editThe Fernley facility was established in 2011 as a west coast manufacturing hub for truck scales and other heavy-capacity products.[4]
Seattle, Washington
editRice Lake Weighing Systems acquired Measurement Systems International in 2012. The Seattle facility offers a comprehensive line of industrial electronic scales, crane scales, tension dynamometers and other load monitoring instrumentation.[5]
Monterrey, Mexico
editRice Lake de Mexico provides sales, service and training support to Latin America.
Heteren, Nederlands
editRice Lake Weighing Systems acquired the Dutch belt-scale manufacturer Master Engineering in 2013. Rice Lake Weighing Systems Europe B.V. provides distribution and support of Rice Lake products for their European customer base.[6]
Chennai, India
editRice Lake Weighing Systems India Ltd. Is a joint venture between Rice Lake Weighing Systems and Strategic Weighing Systems Limited. Products include electronic weighing systems, material handling systems and batching and blending solutions.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
editRice Lake Weighing systems and Fefa Sensores have developed a distribution agreement to deliver product and customer service to the Brazilian marketplace through local service, warehousing and support in São Paulo, Brazil.
Other Divisions
editOther divisions of Rice Lake Weighing Systems include Mattson Spray Equipment, Rice Lake Custom Machining and Intruder.
Training Programs
editWelding Program
editRice Lake Weighing Systems was awarded a $78,795 grant from the Department of Workforce Development to develop a multi-level welding skills program . This program provides training and skill enhancement to 53 incumbent workers and 38 new hires at the company.[7]
Intern Program
editRice Lake Weighing Systems has the largest Summer Internship program in the region, hosting 40 to 60 high school and college students each year. Interns work in a variety of fields from Maintenance, to Marketing, to HR, and gain real world experience to add to their resumes.[8]
References
edit- ^ “Donald B. Johnson: Service is in Rice Lake’s DNA”. Weigh & Measurement. October 2008. http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=6951&p=22
- ^ “Rice Lake Weighing Systems To Expand in Barron County”. In Wisconsin. July 2014. http://inwisconsin.com/press_releases/rice-lake-weighing-systems-to-expand-in-barron-county/
- ^ Rice Lake Weighing Systems Acquires Powell All-Steel Scales”. Grainnet. June 2004. http://www.grainnet.com/articles/rice_lake_weighing_systems_acquires_powell__all_steel_scales-22832.html
- ^ “Rice Lake Weighing buys 29,700-sq.-ft. Nevada manufacturing facility”. Equipment World. August 2011. http://www.aggman.com/rice-lake-weighing-buys-norac-systems-weighing-division/
- ^ “Rice Lake Acquires Seattle-Based Measurement Systems International”. Manufacturing.Net. April 2012. http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2012/04/rice-lake-acquires-seattle-based-measurement-systems-international
- ^ “Rice Lake’s European presence grows with purchase of Holland-based Master Engineering”. Business North. May 2013. http://www.businessnorth.com/viewarticle.asp?articleid=5337
- ^ “Wisconsin Fast Forward Worker Training Program Highlighted in Rice Lake”. State of Wisconsin. April 2015. https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/2015/150423_wff_rice_lake.htm
- ^ “Barron County EDC honors area businesses”. Business North. October 2014. http://businessnorth.com/viewarticle.asp?articleid=6308