Billy Goat Industries
If you do a lot of yard work or enjoy serious landscaping, chances are you've used a product manufactured by Billy Goat Industries, Inc., the premier manufacturer of commercial grade outdoor power equipment for debris management.
The company designs and produces industrial strength machinery including finish mowers, leaf and litter vacuums, wheeled blowers, walk behind seed cutters, aerators, high weed mowers, truck loaders, power rakes and over seeders.
Billy Goat started in 1967 as a subsidiary of Clipper Manufacturing and became an independent company in 1969. Today, the company is owned and operated by two generations of the Coates family.
In 1974, Billy Goat moved to its current location in Lee's Summit. Since that time, the company has expanded its facilities three times—the most recent being a 20,000-square foot addition occupied by welding and fabrication operations.
The company has a reputation for durability, integrity and innovation. They not only design for ease of use, but they aggressively test what they design. It is not unusual to see "old goats" more than 15 years old still in operation.
Billy Goat has exported its products around the world for more than 20 years. Some of those markets include western Europe, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan. In the U.S., customers include professional lawn care contractors, asphalt maintenance contractors, rental dealers, sweeping contractors, hobby farmers, property owners/managers and homeowners.
Company management will tell you that the firm's greatest asset is the people who work for it. The business has a family atmosphere and is committed to continuous improvement. The nearly 90 employees include several with more than 10 years with the company.
Over the years, staff from Billy Goat had worked with the Central Missouri State University Small Business Development Center in Warrensburg on several business management issues. Most recently, the company worked with Brad Snyder, the center's manufacturing operations specialist, on a production problem.
After a quick walkthrough of the facilities, a short consultation with other members of the CMSU SBDC team and some additional research, Snyder identified a low-cost solution that will save the company thousands of dollars each year.
Steve Wilson, Billy Goat's manufacturing engineer, said, "We were so impressed by CMSU's quick response with both a site visit and providing a completely workable solution within less than a week."
Since 1993, the company has made significant investments in its benefits programs, training, tooling and equipment and facilities to make the business more competitive in the future. At Billy Goat, they are proud of their heritage, their people, their products and their community.
What impresses Snyder, however, is that instead of resting on their significant laurels, the company continues to look for ways to make cleaning up less of a chore!
Billy Goat Industries
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