Carrie L. Majeski, the President and CEO of Art's Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (ARTW): a Wall Street Transcript Interview
67 WALL STREET, New York - October 13, 2012 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Farming Equipment, Chemicals and Products Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: High Crop Prices - Emerging Market Farm Mechanization - Crop Yield Management - U.S. Corn Crop
Companies include: Art's-Way Manufacturing Co. In (ARTW) and many others.
In the following excerpt from the Farming Equipment, Chemicals and Products Report, the CEO of Art's-Way Manufacturing discusses the outlook for her company for investors:
TWST: Please tell us a little bit about Art's Way Manufacturing.
Ms. Majeski: Art's Way was developed by a gentleman named Art Luscombe. Mr. Luscombe was an entrepreneur and an inventor, and he saw the need for farmers to have grinder mixers for feed rations on their farms. So he started out with a grinder mixer. The company was founded in 1956, and the grinder mixer is still one of our primary product offerings.
However, since 1956, farms have been getting larger every year, and the need to have either these smaller grinder mixers or the need for as many of them has decreased, because there are not near as many farmers today as there were in 1956. That has decreased demand for the grinder mixer. So instead of selling 10,000 a year the way we used to, we are now maybe selling 300 a year. As a result, we have had to diversify our product offering. Today, instead of making one product, we have over 16 different product offerings with several different models of each product.
TWST: What are the company's main product lines today?
Ms. Majeski: The grinder mixer is still one of our main products, and we've tried to be progressive with engineering and research and development on that product to make sure that we stay in the forefront. For example, we have made advances to increase unload times and create larger capacities. That's how we work to stay in the forefront in that industry.
The other product that is one of our main offerings is sugar beet harvesting equipment. That is a bit of a niche product as there are not that many farmers that have sugar beets in the United States. So we probably sell between 20 and 30 a year, but it is a niche product and it's a relatively high-priced product.
TWST: What is the largest product line at Art's Way Manufacturing, and is it different than what is the fastest-growing line?
Ms. Majeski: Well, our largest line is going to be still the grinder mixer. In terms of the one that we look forward to growing the most in the next two to five years, that would be our manure-spreader line. That's a relatively new line. We bought it a couple of years ago from a company in Hull, Iowa, and is called the Roda Manure Spreader. We like the product because it has a very good spread pattern, and it's a very robust piece of equipment. So again, we try to be in the niche sectors. We want to have the best manure spreader on the market. There are all kinds of people out there selling manure spreaders, and we want to have something special to sell.
TWST: You operate in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Does Art's Way sell the same equipment in each of those markets or are there modifications?
Ms. Majeski: The equipment we sell is basically the same around the world. We sell our grinder mixers internationally just like we do in the United States. We do have some modifications that we have to make to the machine in order to get it into the shipping containers to minimize the freight cost, but for the most part it is the same machine. We are breaking the frame so you can tip it over and put it inside the container.
We don't have to make that same type of modification to ship product to Canada. It is a lot easier to get product to Canada in terms of the shipping because you are not putting the machine on a boat or a vessel. We just ship it to customers in Canada via truck, the same way we ship it here in the United States. So the product going into Canada would be our grinder mixers and our hay and forage equipment primarily.
TWST: Are farms basically the same whether they are in the U.K. or Canada or the U.S., or are there different technologies or product mixes between U.S. and international farms?
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
