Ruskin recently expanded its manufacturing plant in Parson, KS with a 5,000-sq-ft addition to the existing facility. Opened in August, the new space supports production of the TDP05K advanced thermal dispersion air measurement system introduced earlier this year.

 “As we developed the TDP05K, we realized the product requires a steady-state production facility, where temperature and humidity setpoints can be maintained year-round to ensure products are calibrated under identical environmental conditions,” said Lowell Wells, Ruskin plant manager. “As a result, the new space is isolated from other production areas. Floors feature a static protective coating and workers wear static-free wristbands and garments.”

According to Wells, the expansion has created eight new positions, with the likelihood of adding more jobs in the future. Research and development functions related to the TDP05K will remain at the company’s Grandview, MO facility, with assembly and calibration taking place in Parsons.

“However, the Parsons team continues to be instrumental in elements of the development process,” said Tim Vogel, director of national accounts and customer care at Ruskin. “They are providing valuable expertise and feedback, both for this product and others going forward, and will build and test prototypes as new products are developed.”

Vogel reports the company has hosted its representatives and channel partners at the Grandview facility, providing extensive training on new features and benefits of the TDP05K and exposing them to the carefully-controlled production environment that makes it possible to provide these benefits.

“We’ve constructed a facility with an environment that ensures quality will be part of every product that leaves the plant,” said Vogel. “And the size of the expansion — three times the space used to produce Ruskin’s legacy air measurement system — along with built-in redundancy for every manufacturing process means increased product availability for our customers. Our mission is to ship probes every day of the week, and one day soon, we expect to commit to a standard delivery of 10 days and express shipments of 72 hours and five days.”

To celebrate the opening of the plant expansion, Ruskin held a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a hamburger and hot dog cookout for the Parsons plant employees. Said Vogel, “They’ve worked hard to make the launch of the TDP05K a success, both from a product development and production standpoint, so it was important that we recognize their efforts and say thank you.”