BANDIT INDUSTRIES | REMUS, MI
The year was 1983 when original founder Mike Morey Sr. left a prominent position in the woodchipper manufacturing industry to set out and build a better product. “Nobody would listen; not to me, or the product guys, or the customers telling us what they needed,” said Morey on the work environment that led him to start his own company. “Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe what it was like.
Mike finally had enough and with the support of his wife Dianne and their children, he started a small company called Foremost Fabrications. He procured a 6,000 square foot repair shop located in a rural field approximately ten miles west of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He had the assistance of six employees, and using the designs his previous company had rejected, Mike and the fledgling team built the first Brush Bandit® chipper – the Model 100.
In 1987 Jerry Morey and Dennis Tracy left the same company to join Mike and Dianne as co- owners, bringing significant experience in sales and marketing with them. The company name was officially changed from Foremost Fabrications to Bandit Industries, Inc. A big part of the sales and marketing strategy was to set-up a variety of dealers across the country that would provide unmatched support on all levels. Sadly, Dennis Tracy passed away in 1997 leaving Dianne, Mike, and Jerry as the three owners of Bandit.
In addition to manufacturing a complete line of hand-fed chippers, Bandit continued to grow by adding product lines throughout the years. Bandit pioneered the self-propelled chipper market by introducing the first whole tree track chipper in 1990. Bandit entered the horizontal grinder market in 1995 by unveiling The Beast® – a powerful horizontal grinder that would soon become one of the leading machines in the world for processing waste wood, plastic, roofing shingles, and much more.
Bandit continued enhancing its product offerings by developing a line of stump grinders, and introduced them at the TCIA show in 2004. A line of track carriers was offered to the market in 2006 featuring interchangeable forestry mower and stump grinding heads. With the success of the track mulching carriers, in 2013 a 60” and 72” forestry mulcher attachment for skid- steers was added.
2018 brought on a unique partnership with Arjes, a company out of Limbach, Germany to be the exclusive North American representative to sell their line of slow speed shredders. The Arjes models excel at processing construction and demolition waste, chunk wood, concrete, metal, and more. Overall Bandit now has six major product lines to serve a variety of markets.
As the product lines grew, so did the manufacturing capabilities. Averaging a major building expansion every two years, Bandits original 6,000 square foot shop grew to over 340,000 square feet of manufacturing space up until 2020. As the demand for Bandit products increased, the determination was made to dedicate significant resources in expansions. Building expansions included additions to the stump grinder and Beast assembly areas along with an addition to the hand-fed pre-assembly area. In 2022, a new state-of-the-art material processing center was started. Once all expansions are completed, the total manufacturing space will be 560,000 square feet.
Bandit has recently purchased two local companies increasing its product offerings, manufacturing, and storage space. At the end of 2021, Bandit announced the purchase of Trelan located just a short distance from Bandit’s headquarters. Trelan has manufactured quality whole tree disc-style chippers since the seventies. In the summer of 2022, Bandit purchased Birch Tank located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. This purchase added another 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space and another 6,000 square feet of office space.
Throughout the years numerous Bandit employees have made a significant impact on the success of the company. The commitment for quality, innovation, and dedication is instilled in every Bandit employee and one of the main reasons Dianne, Mike and Jerry decided to create and Employee-Owned Company (ESOP) in 2018.
The current state of the company is at a record high pace as Bandit now employs over 700 people, continues to see growth in all product lines, has increased manufacturing capabilities, and is a top force providing equipment for the tree care and recycling markets.
To learn more about Bandit Industries, visit their website: www.banditchippers.com.
