Bay Port, Mich. — Mr. Wheeler, you owe Mike Richmond $20.
According to a bet from the Laker FFA ag teacher, the Richmond brothers had to make 320 gates for the Huron County Fair hog barn in 30 days. They finished on day 28.
A mile-long smile stretches over Mike’s face. He rubs his hands together.
“Mr. Wheeler never did pay me that $20,” he deadpans. “We remind him of that every day.”
Thirty-two years later, Richmond Brothers Equipment LLC sells sugarbeet harvesting parts, in-house tillage tools, and other Michigan-made equipment all over the United States. The fabrication business offers cost-effective solutions and services for Midwest farmers and businesses, said Mike, co-owner of the shop with brother Ken.
“Our fabrication is about 95 percent agriculture,” Mike told Michigan Farm News. “It’s grown to the point where we send sugarbeet harvesting parts from Michigan to Alberta, Canada, to the Red River Valley to Wyoming and Colorado. We send parts wherever sugarbeets are grown, and 30 years ago, we never thought we’d be to that point.”
Located about 10 miles from Michigan’s sugarbeet capital, the Bay Port operation has found a niche in selling cast-tillage parts made in Pigeon, MI. They work with original equipment manufacturers Bourgault Tillage Tools, Horsch, Degelman, Art’s Way, Bush Hog, Salford, Meridian, Dirt Dog, Hustler, and Elmer’s Manufacturing.
“We supply products that will help growers increase their efficiency and lower their cost per acre,” said Jason McCallum, manager of Richmond Brothers Equipment.
“Parts built for the sugarbeet harvesters are going to improve the machine’s performance or efficiency. With our equipment company and tillage products, it’s the same thing: It’s the parts that are going to improve their efficiency, keep them out of the shop, keep them in the field longer, and lower their cost per acre.”
McCallum said new product ideas sometimes come from farmers and customers.
“‘Can you make this?’ they ask,” he said. “We get that question all the time. We then do a cost analysis and see if making the part is worth it in the long-run. That’s how many of our products are born.”
It all started with a cast-iron disc ripper point, which Mike and Jason showed Michigan Farm News in June. Richmond Brothers now offer 25 different products, one a chisel plow made at the request of Walther Farms.
“Little things matter, as long as the cost-per-acre is effective,” McCallum said. “I am really proud to sell something made in Michigan.”
That mindset’s allowed the company to grow 50 percent in sales each year.
“We love this community,” Mike said. “It’s funny, though: We’re out and about, and you meet a new person. They ask you what you do for a living. You say you’re a farmer. You don’t say you are a fabricator. You’re a farmer, and you’ve always been one.”
Visit here to learn more about products and services at Richmond Brothers or contact (989) 217-8006.
“If we believe in it enough to use on our farm, we will sell it, manufacture it, or supply it,” said Mike, a Huron County Farm Bureau member.
“I believe the line of products that we’ve developed and get out there will continue to gain traction across the country. It's going to be exciting to see the growth and what we can do with our new products and how we can keep helping other farmers.”
And Don Wheeler, you still owe Mike that $20!