Members of Hudson-based SITTAB are gearing up for a road trip-traveling the 2,000 plus miles from its Wisconsin home to a new facility in the Fresno area in California.
The new location will be an expansion of current operations in Hudson, and owner Martin Bertilsson, employee Tom Flaherty and Greger Blomster of the Sweden side of SITTAB will be making the trip.
"We in a sense just looked at a map and thought there was a little bit of a black hole in the market on the West Coast," Bertilsson said.
The expansion was made possible in large part by a purchase the company made last year of seat-company Carmac.
"If we hadn't purchased Carmac we wouldn't have done it," Bertilsson said.
With the addition of the seat company, seat accessory SITTAB will be working on customization orders for companies in the California and wider West Coast area. SITTAB makes heavy equipment seat accessories other products designed to make work as comfortable as possible for operators of heavy equipment.
Two trips have been made to the area ahead of the weekend road trip, to check out the location and begin the setup process.
"It's crucial to have things set up properly," Flaherty said.
They hope to have everything ready to go by the New Year, with trade shows planned in February and March.
"That will be the first marketing effort to see if we can make a name for ourselves out there," Bertilsson said.
Bertilsson said the plan for the new site is similar to the current one in Hudson, and he hopes things go as well as they do here.
"The community has really taken care of us," Bertilsson said. "Hudson is a great place."
The Hudson base will not lose any employees, and Flaherty said the expansion will free up time and space here.
"I really think it could help smooth the production here," Flaherty said.
Bertilsson said the expansion will help Hudson SITTAB grow into a more mature company.
"It's an adventure," he said.
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