By Melissa Wagoner
When the owners of Wurdinger Manufacturing in Silverton added a parts store to their well-established fabrication business in 2019, the goal was to cut down on the number of trips their fabricators were making to Salem by stocking the pieces they needed most often. It wasn’t long before the company’s customers got wind of the new addition and everything changed.
“There were customers south of us who, before we were here, were driving another 45 minutes past us,” he continued. “Now we’ve got a good enough selection and enough expertise we’ve had people come in from as far away as Independence.”
Stocking everything from tiny parts like bearings and tee jets to larger equipment like no drip spray guns and even hitches, the staff of Wurdinger Manufacturing’s new Ag Supply Store take pride in offering one-stop shopping for those in the ag, forestry, manufacturing, mechanical, drilling and food supply industries as well as for those who just need a specialized part.
And they don’t just sell the parts. True to their origins, they repair and manufacture them as well.
“We just hired a person who can repair hydraulic cylinders, motors and pumps on top of doing welding and repair,” longtime employee Gerhard Greve said.
Additionally, Ag Supply Store staff members Jakobie Bloedorn and Jon Kamrath provide a level of knowledge that allows them to repair or source a part for just about any machine customers bring in.
“I grew up fabricating,” Kamrath said. “I fabricated all over the valley. Then Sid brought me in to do maintenance and to install equipment… I just worked on a machine recently, that I built.”
It’s this kind of onsite maintenance that sets Wurdinger Manufacturing apart.
“We go out and do a parts inventory and drop off parts so [customers] don’t have to stop, they can just keep going,” Kamrath said, defining a practice that – initially created for use by Wurdinger Manufacturing itself – is now being offered to farmers and businesses around the valley.
“That way, if they’re using something often and it’s prone to wear and tear it’s right there,” Wurdinger added.
Or, if not onsite, then perhaps a short distance away, at the Ag Supply Store where Wurdinger maintains, “customers tend to be very happy when they come in.”
Wurdinger Manufacturing and Ag Supply Store
A fabrication shop building custom machines as well as selling, repairing and modifying existing parts and equipment.
4730 Brush Creek Drive NE, Silverton
www.wurdingermanufacturing.com
503-873-9872
