Ground Force continues to increase sales abroad
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 11 years, 2 months AGO
<p>Aaron Goodrich, fabricator for Ground Force Manufacturing, LLC., grinds the edges of a 5,000 gallon diesel fuel tank during a shift earlier this spring at the Post Falls company's newest facility. Ground Force is planning to further expand its manufacturing capabilities with a new 40,000 square foot factory. Ground Force recently received a $5,436 State Trade and Export Promotion Grant, distributed by the Idaho Department of Commerce.</p>
POST FALLS - Ground Force Manufacturing recently received a contract from the largest mining company in Kazakhstan to help keep the Post Falls-based mining equipment manufacturer busy through March.
Ground Force received a $5,436 State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant distributed by the Idaho Department of Commerce and funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The grant gave Ground Force funds to take four trips overseas to the Russian market. The trips enabled the company to form new relationships with end-user customers as well as new Caterpillar dealers.
Ground Force is an original equipment manufacturer for Caterpillar and a dedicated solutions provider to the global CAT dealer network that has been in business for more than 28 years.
The company designs, engineers and manufactures mine support equipment for open pit and underground mining applications. Ground Force serves more than 55 countries worldwide, making its product diversity more important than ever. The company has three factories in the United States, one in Europe, one in Peru and future plans for a location in Australia.
In late 2000, CEO Ron Nilson purchased Aresco, a company in Post Falls, and changed the name to Ground Force Manufacturing. Nilson's goal with Ground Force was to increase the product line and take the company global.
Today, Ground Force builds the world's largest fuel and lube trucks, the world's largest water trucks and the most diverse line of mine support equipment in the industry.
A new product line, UnderGround Force, was launched in late 2012 and with recent growth, Ground Force Worldwide (parent company to Ground Force and UnderGround Force) now employs more than 200 people.
The company's business is now 25 percent domestic and 75 percent international, and has become a complete solution for CAT dealers servicing the open pit and underground mining industry all over the world.
The new customers span nine time zones and include such regions as Scandinavia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Greenland and Uzbekistan.
Next year, Ground Force expects to attend two trade shows in the Russian region and is looking forward to spending more time in Russia, Australia, Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as continuing its development of the South America region.
