Working out of his garage with a band saw, welder and plasma cutter; James Kafka started JK Enterprises in 1993. After a year, he had acquired 4 acres of land and a 32' x 53' building. He then self-built and installed the first 2-ton crane, which he referred to as his first employee. This was the start of Kafka Conveyors & Equipment, Inc.
By 1997, two 55' x 100' coverall buildings had been erected for an assembly shop and a 32' x 100' paint booth was added in 1999. From 2000 to 2017, Jim had expanded to the facility 12 different times; adding an additional 60,000 square feet. As well as, many remodels throughout the years to add more workable space to meet our demand of production.
Over the years Jim's business has really taken off. He has had to hire full-time Machinists, Welder/Fabricators, and he has also had to continuously hire more experienced office personnel. Which include an Office Admin, Accountant, Buyer and multiple Mechanical Engineers and Draftsman. To date, the company has grown to over 50 valuable employees. Including our first employee (Two Ton); the 2-ton crane as it is still hard at work.
After 25 years of manufacturing conveyors, Jim decided it was time to keep serving the aggregate industry in innovative ways. With many expansions, the business still outgrew the existing facilities. In fall of 2018, Jim broke ground on his current manufacturing site. A state of the art 82,000 square foot facility. To provide more opportunities for production of conveying, crushing & screening equipment.
In 2019 he led into a new chapter: truck-mounted equipment. Where the existing manufacturing location was utilized. Kafka Equipment, LLC. took over and went right to work to do the installations of dump bodies, sand blasting, priming and painting, custom fabrication as well as, general service and maintenance on heavy truck chassis. Our technicians and sales team have a combined 130 years of experience. We not only expanded into the truck industry in 2019, but we also expanded by building custom heavy-duty chassis for crushers and screeners.
Kafka Conveyors & Equipment, Inc. and Kafka Equipment, LLC not only serve the Central Wisconsin and outlying areas with quality custom work; our equipment is sold all over the United States. We have been accommodating the manufacturing and supply of conveyors and dump bodies for a wide variety of aggregate applications. Both companies work together to supply customers with nothing but satisfaction. We use Jim's favorite motto: "The Best You Can Get or Better."