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PEQUOT LAKES — Sibley Mfg., which manufactures steel dumpsters and containers to sell nationwide, recently opened on East Woodman Street in Pequot Lakes.
“We got tired of waiting 20 weeks for dumpsters,” owner Tyler Gardner said of his other business, Pequot/Gull Lake Sanitation.
Andy Ellering had been rebuilding dumpsters for Gardner.
“Tyler said, ‘You should start building me dumpsters,’ and I said, ‘I don’t have the facilities,’” Ellering said. “He said, ‘I’ll start the company and you run it.’”
And Sibley Mfg. was born.
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I’m really proud to work with Tyler and see it go from nothing to what it is today.
Ellering is the manager of the new business that is housed where his former business - Andy’s Small Engine Repair - was located. Ellering ran that business for eight years before selling the property to Gardner for the new venture.
“I didn’t close because I had to close. I closed for a different opportunity,” Ellering said.
The building was renovated for its new purpose, and the first ordered dumpster was recently unveiled - a pink Pequot/Gull Lake Sanitation dumpster for Rickard & Sons Concrete in Pequot Lakes. The pink is for breast cancer awareness, and Ellering added a "#1" inside to denote the company's first order.
“We were sharing our dream of this with Bob (Rickard). He said he’d like to buy the first dumpster,” Gardner said.
Rickard said it was awesome to see a new business expand in the area.
Pequot/Gull Lake Sanitation also bought a dumpster.
Sibley Mfg. has an order for 24 dumpsters from a Grand Rapids area garbage hauler that will be done by mid-April. The company’s target market is small garbage haulers.
Sibley Mfg. will build steel dumpsters and containers in all shapes and sizes - from 1½- to 8-yard rear-loading dumpsters to 2- to 10-yard front loads. The goal is to output a minimum of 20 dumpsters per week, Ellering said.
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All work including design, fabrication, paint and decals is done in house.
The business currently has two employees in addition to Ellering, and is seeking a welder.
“I’m really proud to work with Tyler and see it go from nothing to what it is today,” Ellering said.
Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.
