Sheboygan Falls-based lawn and garden product manufacturer Dura-trel Inc. plans to double its size to 30,000 square feet and hire another five to 10 employees to keep up with online demand for its products.
“We’re a manufacturer of garden products and mostly sold through the Internet, and we picked up a lot of big boys,” said president Robert Schnettler. “We’ve expanded with a lot of the big online suppliers.”
Among the large retailers selling Dura-Trel products are Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Wayfair and Amazon, he said.
The company specializes in vinyl products, its most popular of which is a vinyl arbor. Dura-Trel also makes pergolas, picnic tables, planter boxes, potting benches and compost bins.
Dura-Trel plans has committed to hiring the additional employees in the next two years in order to secure $100,000 in funding from the Sheboygan County Revolving Loan Fund. The total investment is $450,000—the other $350,000 came through a private loan from Commerce State Bank—and will be used to increase inventory and purchase new equipment.
In its expanded leased space in the same building, it will expand the manufacturing and packaging space for its entire product line, Schnettler said.
“We are most enthusiastic about market acceptance for our high quality products, and this plan allows us to meet additional customer demand,” Schnettler said.
