Hupp Electric begins move by transporting giant machinery

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Hupp Electric Motors company teamed up with Anderson Tooling Inc. on Monday to go forward with their first few steps of moving for the first time in 47 years.

'I finally found a building a couple years ago,” Owner Kevin Hupp said. 'Our need has been more square footage and so the new building we purchased is about twice the size of our square footage here.”

Take a step into the Hupp Warehouse on 33rd Ave SW in Cedar Rapids, and it's clear why. Motors from the size of a toaster to the size of an elephant dot the premises. A man on a forklift waits his turn as workers zigzag from one work station to the next to inspect machinery.

'As far as excitement in the move from customers and employees, everyone's excited,” Connie Hupp, marketing manager, said. 'It's very exciting and that's the big question- when do we get to move our department and they're all excited to be in the new facilities.”

The first department to move is the rewind department- the place where a motor is recoiled to improve the way it runs. Today one of two varnish tanks was hoisted onto a semi truck and driven to the new location on 57th st in Marion. The tank weighs more than 40,000 lbs. The tank coats motors with a layer of varnish to seal it from dust and dirt.

'This is a crucial part of our business,” Kevin Hupp said about the Vacuum Pressure Impregnation tank. 'It's a very large tank [...] and we need to get it over there today and get it in place and start production again.”

The company planned ahead and will be down on production until tomorrow, however they are all caught up so Hupp says it won't affect their customers.

While the process of moving all the departments and heavy machinery to the new location will be rigorous, Hupp said he looks forward to finishing.

'My heart rate is racing [...] because of the move today,” Hupp said. '[But] our efficiency will definitely be better...we won't be stepping over ourselves like we're doing now.”