Alicia Sweet, president and CEO of Sweet Manufacturing.

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, U.S. — Sixty years ago, W. Dean Sweet founded the Sweet Manufacturing Company, which manufactures bulk material handling equipment, and the company later introduced galvanized steel to the grain industry.

In the mid-1960s, W. Dean Sweet began to observe a time constraint issue at Sweet Manufacturing. In order to prevent its products from corroding, the company would clean, apply a prime coat, dry and then paint a final application on its products. This process was time consuming and labor intensive.

To address this problem, W. Dean Sweet introduced galvanized steel to the industry. He said galvanized steel increased the cost of Sweet Manufacturing’s products, but it was offset by reduced painting costs. Galvanized steel has rust and corrosion- resistant qualities along with reduced maintenance of the equipment.
“In 1968, Sweet Manufacturing Company began production of its ‘premium’ line of Silver-Sweet galvanized bucket elevators. It was so well received that the painted line was discontinued the following year,” the company said.

As Sweet Manufacturing celebrates its 60th anniversary, the galvanized steel implementation has become the “standard” for most material handling equipment manufacturers, the company said.

Currently, Sweet Manufacturing has products in more than 55 countries and sees particularly strong growth potential in the U.S., Mexico, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The company is best known for Silver-Sweet bucket elevators and Flite-Veyor drag conveyors in the agriculture industry. Strong demand has also recently been seen for the Silver Span support structures, belt conveyors and the CalorMatic heat processors, the company said.

The newest addition to Sweet Manufacturing’s product line is the Flite-Veyor 3026 incline flat bottom drag conveyor. It is designed for capacities up to 20,000 bph (508 tph) and provides a new incline conveyor option for the company’s Monarch and Titan model Silver-Sweet bucket elevators. The new conveyor offers either a gear motor or v-belt drive and is made of heavy-duty all galvanized construction with USA prime steel. 

It also features a heavy-duty drop forged chain with a resilient ductile core for shock resistance and an extremely hard exterior surface for superior wear resistance. This chain has a working load of up to 20,200 pounds and includes easy to maintain “chain links.”  This new conveyor also includes a removable head shell and trough bottom for ease of access, maintenance and replacement of key internal components. This new product enables the end-user to provide the producer with the ability to unload a truck full of grain much faster, thus reducing wait times and dump times which benefits both the facility and the producer, the company said.

Sweet Manufacturing attributes its success to its commitment to its customers. “Our success is due to the commitment we make to our customers both by providing a high quality, proven product and by providing world-class customer service (before, during and after the sale),” the company said.

During its 60 years in business, Sweet Manufacturing has faced a multitude of competition but said one reason for its enduring success is that it has stayed consistent in its business philosophy and core values.

“There has been an increase in the number of companies that provide not only handling equipment but also now storage equipment,” the company said. “We have evaluated what we feel is ultimately best for the customer, and we have determined to stay focused on what we do the absolute best and that is to stay focused on providing world class quality material handling equipment. Sweet does not want to be known as ‘a jack of all trades and master of none.’ We believe being specialized and staying focused on providing premium material handling equipment is the best path for the foreseeable future for us and ultimately for the customer.”