Ska Fabricating is moving its production operations to Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chief Operating Officer Sean Bannon said Thursday.
The decision aims to shift the company’s focus toward expanding market segments such as consumer packaged goods, beverage categories beyond craft beer, container manufacturing and digital printing.
Ska Fabricating is completely separate from Ska Brewing Co., which isn’t going anywhere.
Moving production has resulted in the loss of 11 local jobs on Ska Fab’s production team, and the company intends for the transition to take place over the course of the next four months. However, Ska Fab will maintain its headquarters for marketing, engineering, finance and customer service teams in Durango.
In 2021, Ska Fabricating was acquired by Hanover Partners, a Pacific Northwest-based private equity firm. As part of the purchase, Hanover secured three seats on Ska Fab’s board of directors, initially promising to keep manufacturing operations in Durango.
However, the craft beer market has faced challenges in recent years, with declining alcohol consumption among younger adults, which was among the reasons why the company decided to move manufacturing to focus on other expanding markets for packaging equipment.
According to National Brewers Association, overall beer production was down 5% across the United States in 2023. With less demand for beer, there’s been less demand for brewing and packaging equipment.
Hanover has a production facility in Grand Rapids that will allow Ska Fab to offer digital printing and container manufacturing services not related to craft beer, influencing the decision to move.
“The change for us is heavily driven by changing markets. The growth in the craft brewery business which really launched our operations in Durango has matured over the past couple of years,” Bannon said. “It will always be important to our business, and we’ll continue to support that market out of our Michigan factory.”
Ska Fabricating was founded in 2012 to meet the demand for container handling equipment tailored to small- and mid-sized craft brewers. Its signature product, the depalletizer, helped establish the company’s reputation.
“Durango remains a vital site for the business, despite the relocation of our production operations,” Bannon said.
The company has provided more than 1,000 companies with brewery equipment across the United States and internationally.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
