HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-02-03, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, February 3, 2016
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A feed mixer in an Honduran farm field, delivered to the Central American country in the summer of 2015.
Lucknow's Helm Welding competing on international stage
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"I think he went as far as
Grade 8 and thought he
better work instead of
going to school," Clark said
as the inspiration behind
the founding of Helm
Welding.
He offered repair ser-
vices for industrial and
farm equipment and man-
ufactured snowblowers,
post hole augers and other
small -sized products.
Then in May, 1968, fol-
lowing the completion of
construction on an almost
300 -meter -squared build-
ing, Helm Welding came
into being and moved into
the location where it cur-
rently reside.
Since then, the company
has grown seeing its facili-
ties expand several times,
particularly during the
mid -'70s, and new prod-
ucts were added to its Luc -
know line.
One product in particu-
lar was the feed mixer,
which the company has
come to be known for.
"Art always was thinking
of ways to do different.
Always thinking of differ-
ent products and different
ways of doing things," said
Clark.
Over the phone Grant
Helm, Art's youngest sib-
ling at the age of 68, said
the senior Helm was not
necessarily the best sales-
man, but he sure had a way
with machinery.
"He's a real good
designer," he said. "He could
see something and actually
go out and make it"
However, when the feed
mixer was first manufac-
tured in the late '70s, it was
slow going, according to
the company's self -pub-
lished history book.
In the first four years on
the Helm's product line,
less than a handful per
annum were sold due to
low beef prices and high
interest rates.
For comparison Clark
said they average about
300 sales a year now.
"Although the sales vol-
ume was disappointing,"
the book reads, "the most
of these machines were
delivered to feedlots and
dairies fairly close to
Lucknow."
This, the book alleges,
helped to spread the word
on the durability and ease
of use of the product.
"We probably build one
of the heaviest built,
strongest built mixers on
the market," Clark said.
Then in the early to mid -
'80s the world came
knocking, specifically
South America.
Grant said they sold sev-
eral to a 30,000-40,000 acre
farm in Peru.
"We shipped them a lot
of mixers," he said.
The popularity of Luc -
know products down south
only grew, Grant said, so
much so that they pres-
ently employ a Spanish-
speaking sales representa-
tive who works out of
Miami, Florida. They also
have a Japanese employee
who resides on the Asian
archipelago nation.
"It makes you kind of
proud when someone asks
'Where you from?' 'Luc -
know! 'Oh, the name on the
products?' Kind of makes
you proud," Grant said.
While people in the agri-
cultural business may be
familiar with Lucknow
through Helm Welding, the
people of Lucknow may
not be familiar with Helm,
Clark said.
As example, Clark said,
one of his neighbours was
down in the States looking
to buy a new feed mixer.
"And someone down
there told him, 'Well,
there's a real good one
built up in Canada some-
where. You should just
look into that,' And he just
lives 15 minutes from here
and he didn't know we
make mixers," recalled
Clark. "So after that he
always bought a Lucknow
mixer."
Repeat customers,
according to Grant who
works sales for the com-
pany, is important to
Helm's business.
Grant always tells his
sales team a first sale is
good, second and third
sales are great, but it's the
fifth and sixth sales you're
looking for.
And that loyalty, Grant
said, is born from creating
products that last.
"We still get called from
people using machines
built from the late '80s,"
Grant said. "That's
unheard of" with other
companies.
In its 48th year, Helm
Welding has grown to be a
single -digit multimillion -
dollar company with prod-
ucts in 17 countries such
as the Cayman Islands,
Germany, China, Italy and
Israel.
One of the challenges
the company faces does
happen to be its location,
Clark said.
"Shipping -wise, every-
thing has to be trucked out
of here. There's no train
yard or shipping yard, so
everything gets loaded in a
container and goes to
toronto, gets through on
the rails and if it's going to
Japan it'll head to the west
coast, either Vancouver of
seattle, loaded on the ship
there and go from there,"
he said.
When asked if Art, who
is now in his mid-70s and
has been retired for some
time, or if he or any of the
other four owners of the
company ever thought of
relocating, Clark gave an
an assertive no.
"It's good for the econ-
omy around here," said
Clark. "The majority [of
employees] live here. I'm
trying to think of the per-
son who lives the farthest.
Blyth. Wingham. Bluevale.
Arran. Goderich. They're
all near by."
Including the five own-
ers, Helm Welding employ-
ees 36 people, Clark said,
who's been with the com-
pany for 23 years.
"It helps the reputation
of the village," said Grant.
"Puts it on the map."
This is the second article
of a six -part business series
on Lucknow companies
with international reach.
Huron -Kinloss tax arrears slightly down from 2014 at $750,000
Darryl Coote
Reporter
The amount of unpaid
taxes since 2013 in Huron -
Kinloss amounted to
$748,965.60 as of Dec. 31,
2015.
This number, presented
to council Monday, Jan. 25,
represents 5.53 per cent of
the 2015 tax levy, which is
slightly down from the
amount owing this time last
year at $762,592.80, or 5.98
per cent of the 2014 levy.
"I'm quite please with
the numbers, to be honest,"
said Mayor Mitch Twolan
since over 94 per cent of the
township is paid up on its
taxes.
"These are pretty good
numbers," he said,
considering "we have fami-
lies that are struggling."
Of the amount outstand-
ing, $503,989.60 was from
2015 representing 67. 29
per cent of all money owed
by the township. For 2014,
201,643.20, or 26.92 per
cent, remained unpaid.
And for years 2013 and ear-
lier, only 43,332.80, or 5.79
per cent, were left arrears.
"It is similar across Bruce
County," he said.
The tax arrears are
reported quarterly to
council, with the most
recent assessment pre-
pared by Phyllis Hunter,
Taxation & Revenue Clerk.
Last year the average
property tax bill for the
Township of Huron -Kinloss
came to 2,700.