This post is part of an ongoing series of manufacturer profiles. The blogs will cover some of the many names in manufacturing in the state of Nebraska. Check back later for more posts in the series. To see previous posts in the series, click here.

Manufacturing is boring.

Or at least, that’s probably what you’ve been told by a lot of people who have no idea how manufacturing really works today.

The truth is, manufacturing today is anything but boring. It’s fun, it uses a lot of technology, and in some cases, can really be beautiful and inspirational.

To show you how, today, we’re featuring (or Total Manufacturing Company) from Lincoln, Nebraska, a manufacturer that does a lot more than meets the eye.

TMCO has a similar story to many of the other manufacturers we’ve featured thus far. They started in 1974 in Lincoln, Nebraska–where they still operate today–and have been solving real-world problems for people since day one in the shop.

An example? Their ‘cow dryer’–a forced air unit to dry cows–which was designed and manufactured by TMCO (over 10,000 units have been produced and shipped to date). That’s a real-world problem, solved in an efficient, hard-working manner.

And while TMCO offers a , from design, to production, to assembly, we like them most for how much they do for other sides of manufacturing that most people don’t think about regularly. Sure, cow dryers and traditional manufacturing design are cool, but taking scrap metal and turning it into a sustainable art company? That’s just awesome.

We’re talking about , one of three other companies affiliated with TMCO (the other two are and ). A few members of TMCO started the company 8 years ago out of TMCO’s scrap piles, and today, they’re a sustainable division of their parent company, creating practical art for customers all around the country.

TMCO, then, is a great example for showing that manufacturing is about far more than just factories or services like welding. Manufacturing is about solving real problems, manufacturing solutions, and–in cases like these–showing that there are fun, sustainable solutions for scrap that would otherwise be sitting in a pile behind a warehouse.

Manufacturing is a great career choice for the best and the brightest because of this versatility. One day, you might be creating a cow dryer, and the next, you might be turning the scrap from that dryer into cool art. Manufacturing goes a lot deeper than many think it does, and we’re glad that companies like TMCO are out there to remind us of that important fact.

TMCO offers tours to anyone interested in dropping by and seeing them hard at work. They can be reached at 402.476.0013, or at .

Would you like to know more about this company, or another manufacturer we’ve featured here on our blog? Contact us here in the comments or on –we’d love to hear from you!

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