The employee-owned company is a diversified manufacturer and distributor of production equipment and products for the swine industry, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of composite plastic components for a variety of industries, and markets a small line of pet products.

Osborne Industries was incorporated in 1973, with only five employees, inside a rented building on the county fairgrounds. Today, just across the street from the same fairgrounds, the company has nearly 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, and office buildings, occupying almost 11 acres in the Osborne Industrial Park. Osborne Industries is the largest employer in the City of Osborne.

Early manufacturing for the company was limited to labour-intensive hand lay-up methods for fibreglass-reinforced plastic fabrication. In 1976, Osborne Industries developed a new production technique: resin transfer moulding (RTM). Now, 40 years later, Osborne Industries holds its reputation for advanced RTM manufacturing capabilities for fibreglass reinforced plastics with numerous OEM customers. Osborne's RTM manufacturing is also used on many of their proprietary livestock equipment products.

In 1994, Osborne expanded its OEM capabilities with the addition of a department dedicated to reaction injection moulding (RIM) plastic components.

The expansion into RIM moulding allowed Osborne to become one of only a few moulding companies worldwide with Telene polydicyclopentadiene (pDCPD) moulding capabilities. Today, with almost 20 years of experience in RIM moulding, Osborne has become a reputable supplier of high quality, custom-engineered RIM parts for a wide variety of industries.

With the purchase of various companies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Osborne expanded its capabilities to include metal fabrication, machining, tool building, and an electronic design and assembly division. These additions assisted in the expansion of Osborne's livestock equipment products.

Osborne manufactures and distributes its own line of livestock equipment that includes: Stanfield Heat Pads, Big Wheel Hog Feeders, ACCU-ARM Weigh Scales, AGRI-AIDE Ventilation Equipment, and advanced electronic feeders and animal scales: FIRE (Feed Intake Recording Equipment) Performance Testing Feeder, TEAM (Total Electronic Animal Management) Electronic Sow Feeding Systems, and the Osborne Survey Scale-a component of the Osborne Weight Watcher System. Osborne also distributes a complete line of production equipment that includes penning, flooring, farrowing and gestation stalls, among others.

In 2000, with the creation of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Osborne Industries transitioned into becoming an employee-owned company by purchasing a 30 per cent ownership interest from several individual stockholders. In early 2007, the final stocks were purchased and the company became 100 per cent employee owned, ensuring the business would stay in Osborne and continue to provide employment opportunities in North Central Kansas.

With its first international sale in 1979, Osborne Industries quickly began marketing and distributing products worldwide. In June 2010, the company was awarded the prestigious Kansas Governor's Exporter of the Year Award. Today, Osborne has exported products to over 40 countries and accounts for approximately 20 percent of total company sales. Osborne continues to expand its business internationally.

Most recently, in 2012, Osborne introduced 'Single Source Swine Solutions', a complete line of swine management products, equipment and services.

Single Source Swine Solutions includes farm design, building construction management, a full-line of production equipment, one-of-a-kind training and support, and professional management services to improve success in intensive pig farming.

A company luncheon for all employees is slated for 15 May 2013, to celebrate 40 years in business. For more information on Osborne Industries, visit www.osbornelivestockequipment.com or e-mail [email protected].