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May 5, 2000
Hancock Concreteplans to relocatein CourtlandNew Ulm site hasbeen sold to anunidentified buyerBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer COURTLAND -- Following approval of the Courtland City Council Thursday night, Hancock Concrete Products will be relocating their New Ulm operations to Courtland. The company, now operating at a 9-acre site on South Minnesota Street near Hy-Vee, will start operations in Courtland in March 2001. Hancock officials approached the Courtland City Council in March to request a conditional use permit for use of 24.11 acres of industrial-zoned property adjacent to the sawmill and the Family Recreation Center for the company, which manufactures concrete box culverts and archways. The company will make use of an 80-foot-wide road easement for access to the property, since no additional truck traffic is anticipated, President Gene Schmidgall of Hancock said during a public hearing Thursday night. "We will be moving the product we want from New Ulm, and the rest will be junked," he said. "We anticipate getting a contractor in to begin work on the site within two weeks." The 19,600-square foot building will be constructed of steel and concrete. It will contain a shop, two kilns, a wire roller, a lunch room and an indoor storage area. Crews are expected to begin clearing the site by May 15, with utilities being connected and construction beginning by June 1. Construction will be completed by Aug. 15, and equipment will start being set in place by Aug. 16. It is anticipated that production will begin on the new site by March 15, 2001. The building will be centered on the lot, and it will be located 715 feet from the nearest house. Nothing will be constructed on the hill, since the company will make use of existing pits, Schmidgall said. "There is a drainage pond on the property, because a storm sewer runs through it," he said. "We will keep the pond there, but we won't be using it for our operations. My main concern has been with the level of the water table, because we will be sinking our machinery in pits." The company will hook into city utilities, requiring very little sewer needs. It is estimated that there will be a need for 4,300 gallons of water per day. "The drainage pit will be located along the north property line that will help with drainage," Schmidgall said. "We are a large manufacturing operation and this will allow us a better situation than we have in New Ulm, because all our storage will be inside." The move will help the company become more efficient and develop a bigger product, because they will be using state-of-the-art technology in a larger facility, he said. The company has been looking at moving from their current location for several years now, and recently sold the land to a real estate broker, he said. "We looked at various places in town, but none of them really suited our needs," he said. "We looked at the property adjacent to the quarry, but we ran into problems with wetlands, and we didn't need to deal with the DNR." The gravel pit makes an ideal location, because they need a solid base for their product, without having to do too much dirt removal, or other leveling, he said. "We have utilities at this site already, which is another plus as well," Schmidgall said. "We anticipate that we will increase our efficiency and our staff once we are up and running here." The company, which is headquartered in Hancock, has been in New Ulm since 1982. They currently use nine acres of land. Schmidgall said he has heard Wal-Mart is interested in the site, but refused to comment on who bought the land. The Courtland property is owned by Frank Kilibarda of Courtland.
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