A Centralia Industry is celebrating its 50th year in operation.
Big 3 began as a small machine shop in a 20 by 20-foot milking parlor in a rural area between Aviston and Albers in 1970. In 1971, it relocated to a facility three times as big in Germantown. The shop then relocated to Centralia in 1973. Since then, Big 3 has grown from a five-man operation to an organization that employs more than 300 people, operating across a network of facilities totaling over 300,000 square feet.
Over the years Big 3 has significantly expanded the size and scope of its business with several changes in ownership as well as acquiring other companies. Today, Big 3 operates through two distinct divisions — Returnable Packaging and Packaging Blow Molding Tooling and conducts its operations across six manufacturing facilities and three countries.
With the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of the automotive industry, Big 3 partnered with TriEnda, a thermal forming manufacturer, to produce emergency and disaster relief beds. With Big 3’s metal fabrication background and TriEnda’s thermal forming, it was a great partnership producing over 5,000 beds.
Operations Manager Bryan McIntosh says success is a team result and Big 3 has been able to grow because of the hard work and dedication by former and current employees, loyal customers and committed partners. He says having this foundation and Big 3’s ability to look to the future has helped the company evolve to where they are today.
Reflecting back on his 20 years with Big 3, McIntosh says the fondest memories are always about the times where they were able to help customers achieve their goals. While they are so thankful for the years they’ve had, he says they look ahead to many more successful years to come.
McIntosh says they are excited to be celebrating 50 years of service to the community and they thank everyone for their support and dedication over the years.
