SVM_Business Journal - Winter 2022

Welding the midnight oil

When a Rock Falls factory shifted gears into third and added a night crew, it became an overnight success Page 3 The journey of a thousand smiles begins on a bus Page 8 A Polo business owner is raising her glass to a healthier lifestyle Page 12

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By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

hile the rest of the city sleeps, there’s a small group of dedicated factory workers on the east edge of Rock Falls, working through the night — and they’ve not only helped their employer out of a jam, they’re proof that while there may not be an “I” in teamwork, there is an IFH.

The night shift at The IFH Group — all eight of them work from evening to morning crafting fuel tanks and hydraulic oil reservoirs for off-road and specialty vehicles throughout the world.

IFH’s steel, stainless steel, aluminium and alu minized steel fuel tanks and hydraulic reservoirs, which range in size from 1 gallon to more than 300 gal lons, are often used for combines, heavy terrain fork lifts, earth boring equipment, boom cranes, grounds keeping equipment, end loaders and hay balers. Weld ing them together is done by either hand or robot.

The IFH Group — “IFH” is short for Innovative Fluid Handling — has been in town since 1945, but only began overnight shifts 2 years ago after its sale to The Mendota Group of Madison, Wisconsin. Keeping pro duction going around the clock has helped IFH meet production goals and create a better workplace envi ronment, plant manager Brandon Stangeland said.

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“In the last 20 months, we’ve done a lot on the shop floor as far as keeping everyone safer, with new cranes and lift assists everywhere in the plant,” Stangeland said. “We’re sending old robots out to be reworked, which is stuff that we had set off to the side for a while, and assuring that we have cleaner air in the building.”

Though the night shift is much smaller than the day shift, there’s no shortage of work to keep the crew busy. Shift supervisor Kevin Rundall arrives at 6 p.m. each work day to determine where the day shift left off and where the night shift needs to pick up. Then he prioritizes what needs done and the best team members to do it. The rest of the crew clocks in at 7 p.m. and the night shift runs 10 hours from Sunday evening to early Thursday morning, with any overtime work done Thursday evening.

Rundall knows each crew members’ strengths and taps in to those talents to keep the factory running like a well-oiled machine. Some days, they’ll be building tanks, some days they’ll be welding, and other days they’ll be testing them. No matter the task, the crew is up to it. Rundall said the team enjoys tackling the different duties.

Kevin Rundall made the move from day shift to night shift at IFH Group about a year ago, and the line leader said the new hours have been a good fit for him. “I like the fact that if there’s something I need to get done during the day, I can get up and get it done,” he said. While the plant’s night shift is still relatively new — having been started just 2 years ago — he said the crew has overcome initial growing pains and pulled together as a team.

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IFH Group plant manager Brandon Stangeland operates an overhead conveyor during a recent overnight shift. Stageland said the plant’s overnight operations have been a big help in meeting the company’s production goals. He said the factory’s owners have made a commitment to upgrading and maintaining the workplace since buying the long-time local company 2 years ago.

“We’re really trying to cultivate a positive teamwork culture here,” Rundall said. “It’s something different than we’ve had in the past. Mov ing forward, you got to win people over and earn their trust, and that’s been a real big focus for me.”

Rundall had been a line leader on first shift, and was asked about a year ago to move to the other side of the clock. He’s not one to con stantly look over everyone’s shoulder, but rather instills a strong work ethic within his crew and trusts them to get the job done. That confidence can go a long way toward helping things run smoothly, which helps get products out the door.

“We started third shift with a minimal crew, and as we grow, we’ll expand the shift,” Rundall said. “We reached a point where we needed leadership on third shift. It’s what the team needed, I accepted it and here I am. We’ve had some grow ing pains along the way, but with the acceptance of having a supervisor, a lot of the guys were on board with it. Some were a little ap prehensive about it, but that’s something you overcome with communication.”

Welder Don nie Kant looks over an equip ment sheet with Stange land. Kant has worked at IFH for 14 years and joined the night shift in February. He said he’s enjoyed the transition to the night shift.

Not everyone is cut out for a night shift — sleeping during the day, having free time while others are work ing — but it has its benefits, too. Being off during the days opens the door to getting things done during the typical 9-to-5 business cycle.

“I like the fact that if there’s something I need to get done during the day, I can get up and get it done,” Rundall said. “Things are open, I don’t have to rush out of work because the bank’s closing at 4 o’clock.”

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Donnie Kant has worked at IFH for 14 years, and joined the night shift in February. He said the move has proven to be a good one. There’s less stress and he’s able to focus more on his work. When he worked on the day shift, his experience would often be called upon by others, and while he enjoyed lending a helping hand, it could also take him off task. Working on the night shift, he can still help out but also have time for his own tasks at hand.

There’s also another benefit of having fewer people in the mix.

“There’s less people, and you don’t have to worry about gas problems,” Kant said. “Usu ally you got all of the robots running and a full squad running, your gas mixture never really keeps up, even with a good mixture.”

Founded as King Welding Co. in 1945, it changed to IFH in 1998 and moved to its cur rent, 131,000-square-foot plant in 2007. The factory was owned by the King Family until its sale to The Mendota Group in 2020, and today is the largest manufacturer in the nation for the tanks they make.

welds a

a recent overnight shift at The IFH Group. IFH originally began as King’s Weld Shop, a two-man operation at 401 Ave. A in Rock Falls. Since then, it’s grown into the largest manufacturer of small, custom ized fuel and hydraulic oil reservoir tanks in the U.S.

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Donnie Kant mig

tank during

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Patrick Murphy, IFH’s vice president of operations and purchasing, joined the com pany in 2021, and reports to IFH’s president, Ryan McCarty. Murphy has liked what’s he’s seen from the night crew, especially with their flexible nature playing a big role in eliminating a $1.1 million backlog of work in just 12 months.

“We wouldn’t have done it without these guys on third shift,” Murphy said. “They’re very flexible; they get bounced all over and are very flexible and very adaptive. They go wherever the work needs to be done. I can imagine that sometimes it can get frustrating with these guys, but they do what they need to do to. It’s been 180 degrees, and it’s a testa ment to everyone who works here.”

“These guys floating around where we need them, they’re getting ourselves out of a jam,” Stangeland added.

As with any operation that gets new own ers, there’s bound to be change, and one of the key changes at IFH has been employee re tention and recognition. Like many manufac turers throughout the nation, IFH is always on the lookout for skilled workers. Since the start

of the current ownership, incentives such as a $750 sign-on bonus, and attendance and referral bonuses aim to attract workers. An Employee Highlight feature appears weekly on IFH’s Facebook page, and throughout No vember employees were asked if they wanted to provide more publicity for the page with a list of what they’re thankful for.

In addition, insurance premiums have been lowered or more stabilized for its em ployees, which Rundall considers “a huge, huge thing” for his fellow co-workers.

It’s been said that if a business takes care of its employees, they’ll take care of the business, and IFH and its crews are living up to those words — and the third shift is just one example of that. The night crew and its willingness to do what needs to be done to get the job done has shown plant leaders what an impact a change for the better can make.

“It’s all been about changing the culture of the company,” Murphy said. “Whether it’s redoing the break room, or buying new equip ment for the facility, stabilizing insurance premiums, and making a safe and brighter place to work, we say that we want to be the destination employer of Whiteside County.” n

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The IFH Group is at 3300 East Rock Falls Road in Rock Falls. Find it on Face book, go to ifhgroup.com, or call 1-800-435-7003 for more information. For more information on The Mendota Group, go to themendotagroup.com/ Projects.html

Looking for a job?

An updated list of job open ings is available at ifhgroup. com/careers, or text IFH WELD to 22100 to apply.

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Planning a trip?

Jason and Stacie Farrell can help. The couple be hind 3 Guys and a Bus offers a fleet of vehi cles that gets groups large or small to their destina tion — and their rides make get ting there half the fun.

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hen Jason and Stacie Farrell look back on their time together, there’s one thing they can say for sure: It’s real ly been a trip.

Actually, it’s been a whole lot of trips, with a whole lot of people.

That’s because for the Farrells, every day on the job is like taking a trip down memory lane. They’re in the busi ness of turning miles into memories through their livery business, 3 Guys and a Bus.

The husband and wife of Elvira, Iowa, 5 miles west of Clinton, are the partners in the drivers seat of a business that boasts a fleet of buses that take customers where they want to go. From bus trip brewery tours to exploring win eries on winding roads, prom parties to wedding parties, or just a trip to the airport, the Farrells know the way and they know the way to make your day, too. The trip is yours to plan, and the Farrells and their staff of 12 do the driving. From basic shuttle busses to tricked out rides, Jason and Stacie pull out all the stops for their customers, and they do it in style. Some of the rides in their fleet come with all the bells and whistles: comfortable seating perfect for social settings, trendy decor, LEDs, Bluetooth audio and TV, and more. If you want your seats to come with a lap of luxury the Farrells have what you’re looking for.

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The operation has been a labor of love for the couple who’ve been together for a decade. They enjoy meeting customers and making new friends — “We have a good, quality clientele, and we appreciate that,” Stacie said — and they also enjoy getting to see all the different places where their clients’ trips take them.

Stacie said customers often ask about all the different places she and Jason have seen during their travels.

“We’ve seen a lot of stuff,” she said. Sometimes, the new faces they meet introduce them to new places. A recent shuttle trip to Oak Hill for a wedding had the couple “in awe,” according to a post on their Facebook page. They learned about the history of the setting and the story behind it. “This is why we love what we do,” the post went on to say.

As for the busses, these aren’t the kind that took you to school. No teeth-rattling rides and cramped quarters in rows of forward-facing rigid seats. Among their fleet are buses with comfortable bench seating lining the length of the bus. You don’t have to crank your head around or crane your neck to talk to fellow passengers. Heck, someone can even play a tune or give a speech from the front or back of the bus and still be in full view of everyone.

“People love it for being able to have conversations with more than just the person next to you,” Stacie said. “A lot of people reserve them just for the social setting. I’ll ask people, ‘Did you like this, or would you rather have something for

ward-facing?’ They’re like. ‘We love this for the atmosphere.’”

The Farrells have converted buses ranging from mid-sized shuttles to large coaches into a more inviting and interactive atmosphere, and some of the buses even have their own special add-ons.

The largest vehicles in the fleet are two coaches, a black one named “Maybelline,” and a white one named “Maude.” Maybel line can fit 40 passengers, has two TVs and a DVD player, a sink, and curved bench seating. “Maude” fits 45 people and comes equipped with its own amenities, including a Bluetooth system. Both coaches also have restrooms and air conditioning. Other buses can fit 25 to 35 passengers.

Customers can even put their own personal touch on the party ride — adding some decor inside to suit the occasion birthday banners or balloons, for example; as long as it doesn’t damage the vehicle or interfere with the driver’s job. People can also bring their own food on the buses, except “Maybelline” — she’s a little special, with carpeted floors.

Rates are determined by a combination of hours, either day or night, and the business and fleet is licensed and insured.

Once they board the bus, clients can let the fun begin, with safety in mind, of course.

“You have to have a real specific type of personality,” Stacie said about handling crowd while driving. “You can’t let them get away with everything, but yet you have to let them have a good time, too, without breaking stuff.”

Don’t let the name fool

you: 3 Guys and a Bus has more than one bus. Its 8-vehicle fleet ranges from rides that of fer the basics to upscale rides that feature atmosphere lights, TVs, Bluetooth audio, comfortable perimeter seating, bathrooms and more.

From top: The Ford F650 charter bus; Maude, a 45-passenger coach; and Maybelline, a 40-passenger ride with a bar area.

The business has grown and evolved a lot since Jason “decided it would be cool,” he said, to buy his first bus in 2004. The names has evolved, too. It’s still called 3 Guys and a Bus, but these days it’s a guy and his wife and eight busses.

The first bus was quite a bargain — $100 at a public auction. He and a couple of friends (the other two Guys, who have since left the busi ness) helped him convert it into an adventure bus with orange flames painted on the exterior. The following year they started booking their first rides.

A scheduling conflict helped double the fleet when a second set of wheels was added after they realized they had double-booked a week end. Things just kept on rolling from there. The adventures continued and the fleet got bigger, and more luxurious.

When Stacie came aboard, she took over much of the paperwork and scheduling, on top of being behind the wheel. Jason, along with driving, also tends to the maintenance of the vehicles. With weekends being the prime travel days of the week, Saturday mornings can get pretty hectic, getting the staff lined up and the buses ready for the road.

The Farrells like to keep their smaller buses closer to home, with trips to Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, but the charters can pretty much go anywhere in the lower 48 states. They’ve “seen it all,” both said, with trips to concerts, sports events, state parks, historic sites, businesses, you name it. It’s hard for them to pick any one favorite place they’ve gone to, but like the people they serve, they’ve made a lot of memories along the way.

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Sometimes, customers have a real ball on their trip, but wind down on their way back.

“We used to go to Wrigley Field for Cubs games, and I had this group on there that only needed half of the bus,” Jason said. “They par tied on the way over, went to the game, ordered some pizza for the ride home, and within 10 minutes of leaving the city limits, they’re all sleeping either on the floor or on the seats” — a testament to the comfort and smooth ride the bus delivered.

The same thing has happened to Stacie on trips she’s gone on: “They were so out, I turned the TVs off halfway home and nobody said a word,” Stacie said.

In the couple’s nearly two decades of busi ness, the good has definitely outweighed the bad, though lately the road has been a little bumpier.

The livery business has faced its share of challenges in recent years: First, due to travel restrictions and social distancing from the COVID-19 pandemic, and then with the soaring cost of fuel prices. On top of that, insurance premiums have more than doubled and licens ing fees have increased. Keeping the bus doors open hasn’t come without sacrifices — limou

sine service ceased in April — but there are still enough people out there who want to hit the open road with someone else in the driver’s seat that the Farrells and their staff have kept moving forward.

“We meet really great people, and that’s what makes it fun,” Stacie said. “You’ll have them for certain trips, and then they’ll re-book and after that they’re like, ‘We’ll see you again.’ That’s cool. That’s what we want.”

“There’s really not too many groups where we’ve had events for where we only see them once or twice a year anymore,” Jason said of the customers who keep coming back for more.

Whether it’s on a coach or shuttle, the trave ling experience the Farrells provide is the kind that keeps customers coming back, sometimes as passengers, and sometimes as planners. It’s not unusual for the couple to see some of their passengers go on to become trip planners.

“We get a lot of repeat business, through re ferrals or being on a bus for something,” Jason said. “We’ve had pretty much anything that can bring a group together and put them on a bus” and as long as people keep coming together to get where they’re going, the Farrells will be happy to go along for the ride. n

Find 3 Guys and a Bus online at 3guysandabus.com, where ride packages and rates are posted, or on Facebook. Email 3guysreservations@ gmail.com or call 563-5590265 to arrange a travel plan or for more information. Office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to noon on Friday. All drivers have Class B CDL or above licensing and necessary passenger endorsements.

By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

ou say Marco, you hear Polo.

When Renee Lefevre says Marco, she hears Nutrition. Lefevre is the mixmaster behind the healthy drinks and hometown pride at her Polo business, Marco Nutrition. In a time when maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a challenge — with carbonation and corn syrup and me ga-sized fountain drinks all around — Lefevre is doing her part at Marco Nutrition to help people find healthy alternatives to all the unhealthy ingredients out there, and she’s doing it with boosted teas, shakes and iced coffees.

“I enjoy helping people when they come in and want to be healthier, or do better things with their health,” she said, and in her first year of business, she’s met a lot of like-minded people.

“I’ve met a lot of people that I wouldn’t have known otherwise,” she said. People of all ages have come in to try a healthy drink, including, of course, the students whose school mascot inspired the business’ name. Like clockwork, when she opens at 7 a.m. on four of the five school days — she’s closed Wednesday — a fair number of Polo Marcos are already there, waiting to get their fix of her nutritional mix on their way to school.

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Seeing younger customers opt for something other than mass produced energy drinks or soda makes Lefevre happy.

“I hope they’re cutting back on ener gy drinks,” Lefevre said. “Ours has vita mins and minerals in it, and it doesn’t have a lot of sugar. It’s healthy caffeine.”

Lefevre mixes up lots of flavors to savor, with ingredients that come from the Herbalife brand of dietary supple ments. What you won’t find, though, is a lot of calories, despite what the names of some flavors might lead you to believe.

Chocolate and cheesecakes may not sound like part of a balanced diet, but the drinks at Marco Nutrition won’t have you tipping the scales. They clock in at only 250 calories or less. There’s practically no limit to what can be created, and Lefevre invites you to stop by and take a look at the menu. It’s right by the front door so you can decide what you want before you step up to the counter — and it might take a few minutes to make up your mind.

In all, Marco Nutrition’s menu in cludes almost 60 different types of shakes, each with no more than 250 calo ries and no more than 9 grams of sugar; 40 different sugar-free, boosted teas with plenty of vitamins and only 25 calories; and 20 different types of iced coffee, each with only 100 calories, 15 grams of protein and just 2 grams of sugar. The teas and shakes can be ordered cold or hot — the hot shakes proved to be popu lar in the winter months. The shakes can act as meal replacements if need be.

Customers can also get their tea with a little beauty booster, too. There’s a col lagen mixture that supports strong nails and healthy hair, a CR7 with vital electrolytes and carbs that enhances hydration, an H3O that helps replace lost fluids, a Best Defense mix for stronger immune support, and aloe for better digestion health.

Lefevre says her teas help burn calories, boost metabolism, increase energy and improve digestion.

famil y

There’s an art to mixing just the right drink, and LeFevre has quite a colorful palette to choose from. Marco Nutrition’s menu includes almost 60 different types of shakes, 40 different boosted teas, and 20 different types of iced coffee. Here, LeFevre mixes up a Marco Power tea, which features the high school colors of blue and yellow. Inset at left: The Fried Oreo Shake and the Marco Power tea.

There’s even a caffeine-free boosted tea for the younger kids. Another type, a “hangover tea,” has 15 grams of protein, vita min C and energy-supporting B vitamins.

“When they come in for something that’s really hydrating, they’ll get a hangover tea,” Lefevre said.

Lefevre’s regulars are about a 50-50 mix: some stick with their favorites, while others explore the menu to find new favorites.

“When I first opened, there were a couple of people who looked at the menu and decided they wanted to try every shake and every tea, but then they run across one that they really like and they’ll stick with it,” Lefevre said. “I’ve had people that order the same thing in the last year, maybe they only come in three times a week. Some of them get in their habit and have the one thing they like and never try anything else, and some of them try something different every time they come in.”

Some come for the “flavors of the day,” to try a different tea, shake or iced coffee. Specials are posted on Marco Nutrition’s Facebook page before the store opens. In a hurry, and don’t want to wait in line? You can order ahead via Facebook Messenger.

Sometimes Lefevre will take suggestions to help name newer creations. Some names come from a healthy helping of home town pride. There’s a Marco Power tea, with orange, pomegran ate and Herbalife’s “blue blast;” and a Marco Mayhem shake with cookies and cream, vanilla cheesecake, white chocolate, blueberry and lemon. Both concoctions feature the high school colors of blue and yellow.

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Lefevre used to work at Blackhawk Nutrition in Oregon before she decided to open her own place close to home. She took part in a DrumFIT exercise class in Oregon and found herself visiting Blackhawk Nutrition for something healthy to quench her thirst. After a little while, she wound up working there, and in the process she learned firsthand about nutritional science.

“I got better, actually,” Lefevre said. “My blood sugar had been close to where they would have to watch it. I went there later and he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing, but your blood sugar is right back where it should be.’ I felt better, and I made my husband [Mark] start drinking them — he absolutely wasn’t going to do it, but now he drinks a shake every night.”

Even the ice in the drinks gets a little boost. It comes from a Vevor ice machine that bathes it in blue light. The light is supposed to prevent bacteria from growing inside, but Lefevre has seen another benefit of it: younger customers think the blue light looks pretty cool.

“The younger kids will come in here and point their friends out to the ice ma chine, and tell them, ‘Wait until she opens that, there’s a light in there,’” Lefevre said. Lefevre’s proud to do her part to promote healthier lifestyles, and she hopes more people will hear her message and say: “I’ll drink to that!”

“I love what I do,” she said. “I really do.” n

Marco Nutrition, 103 N. Division Ave. in Polo, is open from 7 a,m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thurs day and Friday; and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Find it on Facebook or Instagram (@marco nutri tion) for more information and its flavors of the day.

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