New Leadership & New Growth: 1989 to 1999
In 1993, Walter Bunting stepped aside from his role as president to usher in the next generation of Bunting® leadership. Bob Bunting officially became president on September 20, 1993, and Walter Bunting continued to serve as chairman.
On October 12, 1993, Walter Bunting, Bob Bunting, and other members of the Bunting family, along with employees and friends, gathered together to break ground for a major new addition to the Newton facility. The new building was designed to add 55 percent more space for manufacturing.
Just four months before the 35th anniversary of the company he founded, Walter Bunting died. His death on April 15, 1994 followed a two-year illness that had only occasionally kept him away from his office and the plant floor. His business and his family were the two centers of Mr. Bunting’s life, and the two often merged as his wife, June Bunting, his children, and other family members participated in the business.
In August 1994, Bunting® Magnetics Co. celebrated its 35th anniversary with Bob Bunting presiding over the official opening of the new plant addition. The new facility has supported Bunting’s growth into the future: It adds 16,000 square feet to the manufacturing area and 4,700 square feet in office space.
Over the years, Bunting® has regularly invested in high-technology machinery and equipment to ensure the efficiency of its operations and the quality of its products. Since 1994, company management has upgraded internal systems with state-of-the art manufacturing, accounting, and engineering computer equipment and software.
The upward trend in sales and company growth continued throughout the 1990s. To facilitate sales and shipment of its standard products, Bunting® enlarged the size of its Chicago-area stocking branch in Elk Grove Village from 2,800 to 7,500 square feet.
Bunting® also continued to enhance and expand its many product lines. In the late 1990’s, the company increased the size range of its electromagnets to complement its full line of permanent magnets and holding assemblies. To round out its line of magnetic conveyors, we took an entirely new “beltless” magnetic chip conveyor from drawing board to the plant floor (our Mag-Slide conveyor).
Bunting’s leadership in the manufacture of magnetic metal separation equipment has been advanced by upgrading all its separators, by the inclusion of the latest high-energy rare earth magnets as options, and by the addition of magnetic liquid traps to capture tramp iron and magnetic fines in liquids and slurries.
Bunting® has aggressively set its sights on entering foreign markets for added growth. In 1994, Alpha Magnetics joined Bunting® Magnetics Co. as a licensee of our products in Australia and New Zealand, and their contributions to the overall success of the company continue to the present. Bunting® also added an international sales manager to its marketing staff, and already has a Regional Sales Manager in Canada.
