When George, a seed salesman from tiny Vesta, Minn., decided the previous building for his business had become “way too small”, he decided an upgrade was in order.
An upgrade would be an understatement.
To support his seed operation, George built a 100'W x 20'H x 200'L monster in 2013, a Morton hybrid building that combines its time-tested timber-frame construction with heavy-duty steel trusses. The innovation allows for clear-span buildings as wide as 150 feet.
“The (previous) building I had was getting way too small,” George said as he explained his decision to build Morton. “I would have to bring everything out, sort it, and then if it looked like rain, I’d have to put it all back in. It was in and out, in and out, in and out.”
“With this building now, I can sort everything inside, keep it all under cover. (It) never has to come out. Everything stays nice and clean.”
George first crossed paths with Morton as a longtime visitor to Minnesota’s Farmfest in nearby Redwood Falls, a 20-minute drive from his Vesta home. At Farmfest, he spoke with Morton’s staff about the possibility of building the 20,000-square-foot structure and the rest was history.
“I always heard Morton … had a good building.”
The building boasts Morton’s Hi-Rib steel, cupolas, eyebrow overhangs and wainscot. Three sides of the building have large doors to accommodate farm equipment.
“I wanted enough room on the shed to get machinery in and out. So, at the west end, I have a 40-foot door – (hydraulic) door. On the north side, I have a 30-foot (overhead) door and on the east side I have a 50-foot (hydraulic) door. Any size piece of equipment I want to get in and out of there – no problem. The top of the door is 20 feet high.”
In one corner of the building, George created an insulated multi-floor layout. The main level includes a conference room, two offices and a kitchen when the need arises to host current and potential customers.
And while the main level of the corner supported the needs for his business, he designed the second floor as a place to relax with family, friends and customers.
“I was debating putting (in) storage and my son said, why don’t we put a man cave up there? So we went with the man cave. It’s got a big-screen TV, another kitchen area, popcorn maker … I had one of my customers build me a custom poker table … it’s pretty cool.”
In addition to the “man cave”, the other part of the building has given George an excellent place to host customers for his seed business.
“I have my customers come out … we come up here and I cook them a nice supper and we hang out and talk … and actually we do three holes of golf around my yard. The first hole is in my shed now because it’s so long we use it as a putting green and you have to putt from one side to the other.”
George’s reaction to the finished product echoes a sentiment often heard from Morton’s expansive family of satisfied customers. The family-owned company boasts nearly a half-million customers in more than a century of successful operation in construction.
“Morton has built me one heck of a nice building and it should stand for a very, very long time … it was the talk of the town.”
“From start to finish, it’s been great working with Morton.”
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