History

In 1994, Gene Scherr, Mike Sutkay, Tom Weber, and Rick Heimbruch felt strongly that there was a need for contract engineering services that specialized in the food processing industry. Using their experience with completing projects in the food industry and their strong drive to succeed, Sharpe Engineering was born.

Due to a strong commitment and passion for doing what is right for the customer, Sharpe Engineering grew quickly, allowing them to move from the basement of one of the founders to new office space in Sun Prairie and add additional staff and expertise in the industry.

In 1996, Sharpe Engineering opened its fabrication shop in Ripon, WI. The idea behind having a shop was strictly to support the project engineering functions that Sharpe Engineering was involved in as well as the project efforts of its customers. This included much field and integration work at customer's plants as well as a custom fabrication required for the projects they were working on. As the shop grew in numbers, more space was required, and a new building was constructed in Brandon, WI, the current shop location. Sharpe Engineering‘s fabrication shop is a first class facility where a complete production line can be set up and tested. About 50% of the billable hours from the shop remain in the field at customer's plants supporting projects. Several of the engineering staff work directly from the Brandon location as well.

In 1997, Sharpe Engineering acquired Allied Mechanical from Denis and Mariclaire Claffey, adding a specialization in powder handling and dust collection to the services that they offered. Allied Mechanical was further developed to closely fit within the Sharpe Engineering way of doing business - specializing in project work within the plant and supporting the engineering efforts of it's customers. This has allowed Allied Mechanical to grow and service its customers even better than it had. Denis and Mariclaire Claffey are still very involved with the organization and provide a great deal of experience and application history for Sharpe Engineering and Allied Mechanical.

In 2000, Sharpe Engineering outgrew its rented office space in Sun Prairie and purchased its own office building, where they now reside on Linnerud Dr. There is now more space to conduct business and continue to add staff and experience in the engineering and project management areas.

Sharpe Engineering's staff has grown from the original four to now over 25 employees with a variety of experience in the food processing business, having completed projects for customers throughout the United States, Europe, and South America.

While it seems it is never easy growing a business, Sharpe’s core values in business have remained the same and driven continued growth and success. In working with Sharpe Engineering time and again customers find that the following core values stand true:

We act with ethics, honor, and true concern for our customers.
We are practical, resourceful, resilient, perseverant, and responsible.
We believe in trust and respect for one another.
We are truly committed to the good of Sharpe Engineering and our customers.
We believe in the personal and professional growth of all stakeholders.
We believe that loyalty is important and should be extended in all directions.