Sibley, IA - ZMI Portec, Inc. has a six-month trial period from its owner, Semco Systems, to see if the company is ready for jobs to be added. Semco Systems took over what used to known as The Conveyor Company. For more details on that story, click here.

ZMI Portec makes lime slacking systems which are used by wastewater plants. The machines mix lime with the water and other chemicals to help purify the water.

Semco Systems has given the company six months because it wants to evaluate the books and see how feasible the business is. Even though there is new ownership, the work done by ZMI Portec is the same as it was with the Conveyor Company and is being run out of the same location as the Conveyor Company. ZMI Portec also purchased most of the machinery the Conveyor Company had, except for what was sold at an earlier auction. One major change by the new owners is that instead of outsourcing, manufacturing and welding are now done on location.

"The biggest positive we offer Sibley is [that we remain open]", said Amy Smith, office manager for ZMI Portec. "Someone was able to come in and keep things running." Jobs have also been added since the take-over by the new owners. Eleven people were originally hired, with three more following shortly thereafter. All of ZMI Portec's employees had previously been employed by the Conveyor Company.

Semco Systems, based in Milton, Ontario, Canada, also owns a company in British Columbia, Canada, that works with the lime slacking systems that ZMI Portec makes.