"A monumental shift in our company."

That is how Joe Waldner, President and Chief Executive Officer of WS Steel in Steinbach is referring to a recent agreement.

(Photo by Three-Six North Marketing)WS Steel offers complete steel services and solutions. And Waldner says for the first time in their history, they will not only be a supplier but a fully integrated partner.

Waldner says WS Steel has acquired a new multi-million dollar manufacturing agreement with Clean Seed Capital Group. The Vancouver based company recently placed their first manufacturing orders for the Clean Seed CX-6 SMART Seeder.

"This is a very revolutionary piece of equipment, so it's going to change big farming throughout North America," suggests Waldner. "This unit is really designed for very progressive farmers, large ten thousand acre farmers, it's a big piece of equipment."

According to Clean Seed, this SMART Seeder offers unrivalled level of precision for modern no-till seeding. Waldner adds this unit has won nearly every major award in the Ag industry.

"2015 has not been a good year for the Ag industry," says Waldner. "This unit, there's a lot of excited partners that we have, not only on the farming level but also at the distribution level. I think it's a good story."

Waldner says because of this contract, WS Steel for the first time will not only be the parts component manufacturer, but the complete line manufacturer. That means they will complete the product from design and engineering through manufacturing, final assembly and shipping.

"For the first time in our history, we will not only be a supplier but a true fully integrated partner with greater control over our destiny," he says.

Waldner notes they have built the first prototypes already and the seeders should roll out for the 2016 planting season. He notes Clean Seed has signed a distribution agreement with Rocky Mountain Equipment, which has a store in Steinbach. Waldner anticipates eventually manufacturing hundreds of these units each year.

Waldner says this contract is made possible thanks in part to some recent investments at the Steinbach business. That includes completion of a 20,000 square foot plant expansion with several new 5-50 ton overhead cranes.

"With the addition of contracts and work, we've needed that space to allow us to grow into our contracts and give us more room to build what we need to build," notes Director of Operations Todd Desjardins. "Right now we're doing a lot in the Ag and the power generation industry. Our customers have seen an upswing in their sales, so it trickles down to us and we've seen an upswing in what we're doing. It's been very positive and very encouraging."

Joy Friesen, who manages Human Resources for WS Steel says in the last three weeks they have hired between 15 and 20 people, ranging from general labour to a quality assurance position. She hopes to hire another 15 to 20 people over the next few weeks. Friesen says they could still use more welders and machine operators. Once this latest hiring process is complete, WS Steel will employ more than two hundred people.