Osage Ambulances has managed to navigate through the pandemic though not all has been smooth, especially in recent months. Any enterprise in the medical field would be in a good position to take advantage of a medical crisis but manufacturing anything is going to feel the reverberations of COVID-19. The supply chain and the personnel waves ebb and flow. During the pandemic, they have bothered manufacturing managers in several different fields.
"What is very interesting is that the supply shortages that have been created over this past year have really started to be felt just recently for our operation,” Osage Ambulances President Kyle Shimmens observed, noting the company stays prepared. "We expect through summer of 2021, and into that latter part of the year, tightened chassis supply, along with other parts and materials that are being closely managed on an ongoing basis. This will be our most important issue the remainder of 2021.”
No one can be prepared for everything all the time.
"Regarding personnel, we have increased our headcount two to three percent over the past year with few issues when looking to hire," said Shimmens. "So we have been very fortunate with our loyal workforce and consistent applications still incoming."
This would seem to be the fruits of a well-planned policy, which makes Osage Ambulances a good place to work, in a good place to work. A culture that balances customer and worker satisfaction can weather many floods and droughts.
Nevertheless, the big plant has had some days that were worse than others. Navigating a wave or two turned out to be more difficult than navigating the ocean.
"We have worked collectively to take a long-term approach on how this COVID situation will impact the operation," said Shimmens.
He added, though, there were week-to-week decisions that had to be made. For instance, when Ford Motor Company, Osage Ambulance's most critical supplier, shut down in the spring of 2020, there was no choice but to close for a month, as communication from local health authorities was that a spike in central-Missouri COIVID cases would occur toward the end of April 2020.
The factory timed reopening to coincide with the renewed delivery of Ford chassis and the strategy worked.
"What is most incredible is that we came back into full swing in mid-May and were able to pick up almost 100 percent of our normal volume for a 12-month year in only 11 months," said Shimmens. There were no layoffs, and the company was able to pay each employee as if no one missed so much as a day of work.
The plant has incurred an increase in lead time from order to delivery. This, however, does not seem to be tied to parts and material supply. Shimmens says it's due to a better than 25% increase in sales. "We expect a significant portion of the increased demand to continue beyond this year," he added.
This is a major motivator behind the 30,000 square-foot addition now under construction. The company is planning other expansions beyond that. Therefore, the overarching effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is a net positive for Osage Ambulances. Nobody likes the disease but the company and its community can be grateful for what little good can come from the tragedy.
Osage Industries, Inc., was founded in Osage County in 1983. It was known then as Osage Vans and specialized in personal use conversion vans. In 1985, they began producing custom-made ambulances as an added line. A change of ownership occurred in 1987, followed by a major expansion in 1992, at which time the present ownership group purchased the business. Continued growth and a change in American driving habits led to another change. The conversion van line was eliminated in 2001, and refinement and production of customized variations of five basic models followed. The company, now doing business as Osage Ambulances, produces and sells about 250 units each year. That means the plant, which operates four days per week, churns out better than a unit each day it powers up.
That four-day workweek is a popular model among full-time laborers around the world. It also offers a clue to what the owners believe makes it special. Osage Ambulances takes pride in being a good place to work. More than 100 local citizens labor there, and 30% of them have clocked in for more than 15 years. That's not much turnover for a newer, and growing manufacturing facility. It's blue-collar work but the nucleus of the factory's employees seems to find satisfaction in what they do for a living. Human harmony extends beyond the property, too. A nationwide network boasts many dealers selling Osage Ambulances for more than 20 years.
A stable, experienced, and willing workforce, a product which an aging national population relies on more and more, and a rural neighborhood in a state supportive of manufacturing, sales, and service combine to create an environment in which a good business model can thrive.
The site on CR 302, north of State Technical College and the airport, includes more than 70,000 square feet of factory floor under roof. There is another building under construction at this time. Many expansion projects have allowed production to grow. More importantly, it has allowed production to modernize. The ambulances leaving Osage County to go to work around America are always state of the art. Those being repaired for a return to service are often more modern now than when they were first built. They compete in a field that not only rewards being up to date; it requires it.
Predictably, workers in the medical field support the efforts of others. About 60% of the plant's employees are now vaccinated. The company has offered incentives for them to get the shot. That number is better than the county population at large.
”We did have [Osage County Health Department staff] OCHD on-site for vaccine shots," Shimmens explained.
Osage Ambulances is not pessimistic about the country's economic outlook. They are, however, realistic. No one knows when something else like a novel virus can afflict the world, let alone the nation. Not only that, economic downturns come and go without disasters to stimulate them. Shimmens is more trusting of the company's business model than he is in financial cycles.
“If we were to look back one year ago today, there were certainly many unknowns in our industry, much like industries throughout the world,” said Shimmens. “With the federal funds that have been pushed through, we recognize that additional spending has aided in our increased demand and have been a fortunate recipient of that. Our customers and dealers have been great in bringing orders our way, and we are thankful our operation has continued successfully.”
Looking to the future, Shimmens said it’s no secret there are uncertainties of when an economic downturn will occur, as he expects. “That said, we are confident that the product our employees are producing, the efforts of our dealer representatives, and the way Osage does business will continue to prevail, regardless of the economic environment at the time," he added.
The first step in a recovery is often an ambulance ride. Osage Ambulances is there to drive, not ride, its part of the nation's economic recovery.