In Madras there exists a business that spans far beyond the desert landscape of Central Oregon.

Keith Manufacturing is rooted in three generations and half a century of family ownership and innovation. Sales of its famous “Walking Floor” technology extend far beyond Jefferson County, where it is the fifth largest employer.

And now the company has signed on with its first exclusive international distributor, Ecovative Renewables General Trading LLC, a Dubai shipping and freight company, to sell its patented horizontal moving floors system used in containers to unload materials quickly.

“The partnership accomplishes a lot of things because (Ecovative) is into so many things in the Middle East and North Africa,” said Lindsay Foster-Drago, Keith Manufacturing president, in an interview. “It’s an exciting opportunity for Keith. We will always keep all our manufacturing in Madras.”

The company is a contributor to the Madras community, not just with the 200 jobs, but also with scholarships, internships and other forms of mentoring, said Joe Krenowicz, Madras Chamber of Commerce executive director.

“The majority of their employees live right here in Madras,” Krenowicz said. “They are advocates for helping our young high school people look at engineering, welding and fabricating jobs.

“They’re a strategically focused company and are important to the life breath of our community.”

The manufacturing sector employs 1,300 people in Jefferson County, with the lion’s share working in wood products, according to the Oregon Employment Department’s June report.

Keith holds more than 270 patents for technology it uses and has sold more than 90,000 units of equipment. It’s annual sales figures are in excess of $50 million, said Foster-Drago.

It is most well known for the moving floor unloading system that eliminates the hazards of using dump or tipper trailers, which can overturn. The benefit of the moving floor system is that a business can haul more in one load, adding to the profitability of a hauling company, Foster-Drago said.

Businesses in Central Oregon using the Keith Manufacturing equipment include Cascade Disposal, Madras Sanitary Services, Republic Services, K&S Farms, Central Oregon Seeds Inc., Green Cattle Co., Smith Seed Services, Deschutes County Solid Waste department and Martin’s Feed Inc.

“Everything is custom engineered,” she said. “Our customers can be individual waste haulers to large municipalities to a cement manufacturer in India.”

A history of innovation

Founded by Raymond Keith Foster in 1950s as a farm equipment distributor, the company moved from Redmond to Madras. It developed its patented Walking Floor in 1973 and began selling them to the municipal solid waste industry in the 1980s.

Today, the company is owned by Foster-Drago, her sister and her parents and it is selling an updated version of the system around the world to a multitude of uses, including gravel and asphalt and for storing tons of ice.

It’s the kind of company that employees stay around for. Foster-Drago said there are some employees, which she called team members, who have been with the company for 40 years.

“The largest challenge to our company is the labor force,” Foster-Drago said. “There’s not a lot of available folk at the executive level with the skills in robotics and machining living in rural areas like Central Oregon.”

But even though there are recruitment challenges, the company is rooted in Central Oregon, Foster-Drago said.

Madras manufacturer prepares to break ground on new offices

Madras manufacturer prepares to break ground on new offices

“We get recruited to move monthly,” she said. “The team in Madras is the reason we don’t move. Despite the challenges to find labor, we have a large investment of land and equipment here. Our entire factory is here and those are factors in considering a move.”

The company has offices in the Netherlands, Australia, Mexico and Canada.

Growing internationally

Keith Manufacturing operates on 60 acres of land, which include a research and development facility, shipping and production facilities in the main plant that is spread out over four buildings.

“The times I’ve been in Keith Manufacturing, the staff and the owners all say hello to each other,” Krenowicz said. “It’s run like a family. Their employment packages are competitive and that’s one of the reasons they’re such a stable company for the past 50 years.”

It’s spent millions during the past decades investing in technology to build hydraulic conveyor systems for solid waste and other big businesses. Most of its clients are U.S.-based businesses.

That’s why the partnership in Dubai is seen as a way to grow business internationally. Ecovative’s parent company, RHS Group, was founded in 1910 and employs more than 1,800 people, according to the company website.

It has similar family values, Foster-Drago said.

In fact, a customer introduced Keith to the RHS Group, she said.

“We kind of got to know each other and we had a lot of similar company values to create a synergistic fit,” Foster-Drago said. “They were interested in getting into things like waste and renewable sectors and that’s how the connection was formed.

“We’re getting into the global business, but we’re still a local business. We’re the same company, just growing and getting to do things in different parts of the world.”