Brown Industries, a subsidiary of B12 Transportation Group that manufactures van bodies, rail equipment and trolleys, is expanding its manufacturing capacity by adding a facility Kansas.
The new location is in Minneapolis KS, about 20 miles north of Salina, the company said.
With three business units occupying the existing facility in Lawrence, the new location will allow the company to grow job opportunities and increase production to keep up with the demand of the expanding divisions.
“In order to keep up with high demand, and to expedite our manufacturing process on large orders, we needed more space for our rail and van body business units,” said John Resnik, CEO of B12 Transportation Group. “The city of Minneapolis offered the building as a part of an economic development package, and we are pleased to expand our operations capabilities while also supporting the local community through job growth.”
The company says it will move half of its rail division to Minneapolis this year. Over the course of time, the van body division will expand into the existing space in Lawrence, while the new facility increases rail capacity.
Originally from central Kansas, Resnik is a former city council member for the city of Minneapolis. He has more than 25 years of experience in vehicle manufacturing, and a management team with in excess of 100 years’ experience in the vehicle upfit industry. Resnik has been CEO, CFO and COO of a number of entities, including three in the vehicle upfitting industry at the manufacturing level and one at the dealer level. His experience set includes leadership roles with ElDorado National, Champion Bus, Goshen Coach and Master’s Transportation.