Go Fast Manufacturing has been making reliable equipment for decades. The story began in 1993, when Ken Bricko designed and began marketing the original Go Fast resaws. The next chapter for Go Fast started in 2013, when Dan and Dennis Berken purchased the company. The father and son were very familiar with the line and enthusiastic about its potential, having operated several Go Fast resaws and dedusters in their sawmill. They undertook the task of rebuilding the brand and creating what today has become an industry-leading line of pallet and sawmill equipment.
That dedication to quality, durability and product improvement has kept existing customers returning to the fold across its various product lines as they look to replace old machinery or add capacity. Such is the case for wood product manufacturers, including Crass Sawmill, Dufeck Wood Products, and Ronan Industries. Below, they share their experiences with Go Fast and why those relationships continue to expand and flourish.
Ronan Industries Returns to Go Fast for Second and Third DeDusters
Centrally located between St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota, Ronan Industries provides a range of services, including industrial packaging design, warehousing and logistics, wood pallets, and more.
“We are a design engineering company for wood packaging materials along with manufacturing, warehousing and storage,” explained Ronan Schwickerath, president of Ronan Industries. “We help companies develop alternate wood packaging, export packaging, including cardboard, steel, and wood combinations. We have designed for companies all over the world.”
His company has been using Go Fast dedusters for decades. It is a relationship that has remained strong. A lot of their customers in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors had very little tolerance for dust. That requirement led to the first deduster purchase many years ago.
One of the benefits of the Go Fast deduster line versus alternatives, Ronan noted, is its compact footprint. “The Go Fast units are very compact,” he said, “and easy to maintain.” He found the Go Fast easy to move, set up and adjust.
Then, in 2017, Ronan Industries was enticed by some of the new features being offered and invested in a second deduster – the DD79. While Schwickerath said his first Go Fast deduster was a good machine, he described his second machine as “twice as good.” The more robust frame and chain drive improvements were attractive, and board knockers were crucial for knocking apart frozen boards in the Iowa winter. He went from dedusting about 50,000 boards per month with the first deduster to 75,000 boards with the second.
Fast forward to 2021, and Schwickerath decided to add another deduster for a different line. He went with Go Fast’s latest machine, the DD79 (V3). While the second deduster was twice as good, the latest acquisition was even better. “We just don’t have problems with it,” he said.” It literally runs every day. We just have to change brushes, do the preventative maintenance, and we just don’t have issues. It is phenomenal.”
With that in mind, he challenged Go Fast to retrofit his 2017 machine to match the newest one. Go Fast offered to take the machine back to its shop for the upgrade, but Ronan Industries couldn’t afford to take it out of production, so the upgrade, now complete, took place on location.
“The original Go Fast dedusters became popular among pallet makers because of their simplicity, versatility and efficiency,” commented Kevin Wieser of Go Fast. “They were small in size and simple enough for anyone to maintain.” When the company updated its deduster line in 2015 with the introduction of the DD79, the design remained essentially the same. It focused on making a more rigid frame along with better guarding.
Product improvement is ongoing, however. “The most recent update to DD79 (V3) was a major overhaul of the design,” Wieser said. “We increased shaft and bearing sizes, redesigned our board knockers to be more wear resistant, simplified board size adjustments, and added maintenance access points.”
Dufeck Wood Products Grows with 6 Go Fast Master Resaws
According to Wieser, the Go Fast Master resaws have been on the market for nearly 30 years. They were mainly designed for producing pallet-cut stock, but are versatile for other operations, including siding and shingle making. Much of the design of the machine has remained consistent due to its simplicity and reliability. However, Go Fast has always strived to produce a better product.
The company now offers three models of the Master resaw series, including the 6×6 Master with automatic return, the 6×8 Master resaw, and the wide cut 6×12 Master resaw. The newest models of these Master resaws have been upgraded with heavier framing, increased guarding and more features.
“We now offer all of these resaws with several different options that have not been offered in the past,” Wieser noted. New options include board ripping kits, specialized holdovers, additional hold-down wheels, outfeed kick-off rollers, run-around systems, automatic feeders, hoppers, caster wheels and multiple guide setups.
Dufeck Wood Products, a diversified manufacturer of wood products, has long been an enthusiastic supporter of the Go Fast resaw line. It offers products ranging from pallets to cheese boxes to corporate and white label wood packaging items. Andy Dufeck is the fourth generation owner of the family business, based in Denmark, Wisconsin. When it comes to wood products, he joked, his company pretty much makes everything but furniture. About 70% of sales are generated by pallets. It focuses on specialty pallets and ships as far as Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia and New Brunswick. Dufeck Wood Products does not build 48×40 pallets.
With approximately 160 employees across its business, the company recently acquired a specialty wood packaging company and is building a sawmill in northern Wisconsin.
Dufeck Wood Products purchased its first Go Fast resaw about 15 years ago. It has added five more Go Fast units since 2018, including a pair of machines over the last year. Purchases have included a 6×12 Master resaw, a 2-head 6×6 Master resaw with an automatic return belt, and two 6×8 Master resaws. Additionally, the company also recently added a 3-head Go Fast that it bought on the used machinery market for a total of six machines. All of the Go-Fast resaws remain in full production.
Dufeck is a big fan of the durability and consistent uptime in challenging production conditions. “We work them around the clock,” he said. “They just keep running and are very rarely down.”
New Grade Saw from Go Fast Allows Crass Sawmill to Cut Wood Faster than Ever
Crass Sawmill purchased its Go Fast Go-Around grade system many years ago. After 14 years of heavy use, however, the old saw was starting to wear out. With this in mind, Go Fast went to Crass Sawmill to meet with company owners Jeff Crass and his father, Alan Crass, to discuss replacements.
“We never had much trouble with it,” recalled Jeff Crass. “It just sawed 20,000 feet a day, every day. They’re just a simple machine.” Over time, however, it was wearing out, so the company looked to Go Fast for a replacement.
Given that positive track record and the improvements made to the machine, the company decided to purchase a new grade resaw saw. It took delivery in April 2022. He cited the improved guide system and wheel balancing as two of the notable upgraded features, as well as more subtle improvements such as brass bushings and grease fittings aimed at ease of maintenance and longer machine life. In keeping with Go Fast’s reputation for durability, the return section of the original grade saw still works fine and has not been replaced.
“From my experience at Go Fast, I’ve found that most customers were overall very happy with their old Go Fast grade saws,” Wieser recalled. “However, I noticed that most of these customers experienced the same issues. Our engineering team put our heads together on how to eliminate these shortcomings and how to improve the design of the machine overall.”
The result has been a more durable and higher production machine. “We have greatly improved the serviceability of these machines and strengthened the frames,” he explained. “The wheels are now machined and then dynamically balanced, and there is also an auto-adjusting blade guide that keeps the guide block as close as possible to the material.” Adding a flow meter allows for the automatic adjustment of the feed speed of the saw for wider material.
After installing the new Grade Saw, Crass Sawmill has seen an increase in saw productivity.
CS Chop Saw Series, New Assembly Plant and Fabricating Equipment
Go Fast Manufacturing has also substantially updated its chop saw line. The new CS-Series features heavier construction and improved guarding, offering simplicity and a quick cycle time. The chopping action keeps material in place for accurate cuts.
The standard unit can be ordered with optional features, or they can be added at a later date, including heavy-duty rollers, powered infeed and outfeed, air-actuated chop cycles, pneumatic board stops, a pneumatic board clamp, as well as dual hand push button control for enhanced safety. The CS line is heavier, safer and quieter.
While the original Go Fast chop saw was a basic unit, Wieser noted that now there is a laundry list of options available. “Most of those options can also be added further down the road if someone wants to buy a chop saw and then later add optional features to increase production,” he stated.
Growing to Better Serve Customers
In addition to ongoing refinements to its product line, Go Fast has also expanded its production capabilities. In August 2021, the company moved into its new facility, where it stores finished parts, builds electrical panels, assembles new machinery, performs machine test runs and builds prototypes.
The company recently installed a new 4000-watt Amada laser cutting machine and a 90-ton Cincinnati CNC press brake. This fabrication machinery will allow Go Fast to bring in a large amount of its currently outsourced parts to be manufactured in-house, allowing for better lead times and cost control.
“As Go Fast continues to grow and builds on its reputation in the pallet and sawmill industries, we will always continue to improve machinery designs to go above customer expectations,” Wieser summarized. “As our now 40-person company continues to expand its manufacturing and engineering capabilities, we are looking forward to announcing several new products in the first quarter of 2023.”
Go Fast continues to build on its reputation for making great machinery even better. Its focus on continuous improvement and customer service keeps existing customers like Crass Sawmill, Dufeck Wood Products, and Ronan Industries coming back for upgrades. Do you have older equipment that needs an upgrade? Consider talking with Go Fast to find out how its new line can help you achieve your automation and production goals.
For more information call (800) 854-7439, or visit https://gofastmfg.com/
