GROWTH … AND MORE GROWTH Bandit’s success story is one of cautious financial management and a focus on distributor partnerships. The company added on or built a new building every two years for at least the first decade and has continued to expand. New product lines were steadily added. The first whole-tree track chipper was introduced in 1990, a development that created a new self-propelled chipper market. In 1995, Bandit created The Beast®, a horizontal grinder that even- tually dominated the market. When Dennis Tracy passed away in 1996, Mike, Jerry, and Dianne turned up the heat, pouring all of their earn- ings back into the business and push- ing sales aggressively. They introduced a stump grinder in 2004, and in 2006 developed a line of track carriers with interchangeable forestry mower and stump-grinding heads. In 2013, they added a 60-inch and 72-inch forestry mulcher attachment for skid steers. Bandit continued to expand its facilities throughout this time to accommodate the extra manufacturing activity. One notable addition was a 19,600-square- foot parts warehouse, which the com-
The Bandit Industries team gathers to test and refine the original Brush Bandit woodchipper.
Jerry says. “But now we’re in a position where we have a quality dealer net- work out there and the support for the equipment, so it’s a lot easier to move the product.” In fact, it wasn’t long before the compa- ny was struggling to keep up with the growing demand.
Jerry, who worked at the same manu- facturing firm Mike le, followed him out the door in 1988. He brought along Dennis Tracy, a mutual friend and co- worker, and together they transformed Foremost Fabrications into a robust business. They also changed the com- pany name to Bandit Industries in hon- or of the original Brush Bandit. Like any fledgling business, Bandit had to proceed cautiously, but the team was able to expand its operations steadily. Early on, they created a sales and mar- keting strategy centered on a national network of dealers that could provide Bandit customers with dependable product support. “We were the new kids on the block, so to speak, so we had to work hard to earn our business,” Jerry recalls. “The way that we have been able to be so successful in selling the equipment is to get it into end-users’ hands.” Each customer they added to their ros- ter was hard-earned. “With limited funds to start, we couldn’t build the type of sales organization that our competitors had. It took us a long time to become market-share leaders,”
Bandit Industries’ headquarters is located in Remus, MI. Starting with just 6,000 square feet in 1983, the company has expanded to 560,000 square feet.
22 | ArborTIMES Fall 2023
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