Feldmeier Equipment Inc.

Standing tall before you shines stainless steel with sharp lines protruding toward the sky – industry in the midst of greenery.

Described as “representing  fireworks in steel”, ‘Celebration’ is a sculpture designed and constructed by Christopher Gardner in 1991. The sculpture captures the essence of industry in Little Falls with the call for celebration of its long and influential history. I would now like to bring your attention to three locations concerning the Feldmeier Equipment Inc.

Turning around to face east past the brick building, you can see the Feldmeier Manufacturing plant. The Feldmeier Equipment center produces a variety of items. If you have seen a truck with a large stainless-steel tank on the back while driving, it may have come from right here in Little Falls.

Over the course of 130 years, several businesses combined their knowledge and innovative products to create Feldmeier Equipment Inc.

It began with the family led business from Little Falls, D. H. Burrell & Company., a pioneer in the Herkimer County dairy Industry.

The awards they soon started to win for their cheese can be seen at the Little Falls Historical Society Museum. Burrell’s cheese would soon be sold and shipped from the first U.S. cheese market in Little Falls. The company saw major success with partner Rodney Whitman, leading to a merger that involved seven companies, including the J. G. Cherry Company. In 1928, Loomis Burrell was leading the new Cherry Burrell company introducing new products such as the continuous ice cream freezer.

In Syracuse, NY there was another innovative dairy company, founded by Bob Feldmeier. They developed the trademarked world’s first Triple Tube Heat Exchanger used to process milk, cream, ice cream mix, yogurt and other milk-based products, as well as egg products, fruit purees, beverages, and juice concentrates. Feldmeier purchased the Little Falls plant from Cherry-Burrell in 1998.

The company expanded many times with further facilities located in Syracuse, Nevada, and Alabama. Despite the out of state expansions, the company continues its legacy in Little Falls. The year 2021 brought an expansion of Feldmeier’s with a large plant in Industrial Park, about a mile west of here. Family and home remain a high priority to the Feldmeier family. During the construction of the expansion, Feldmeier Equipment’s Vice President Colby Clark, oft reminisced on founder Bob Feldmeier’s words asking to “Make sure you never leave Little Falls”

Looking back to the sculpture in front of you, you will see hints and influences from the rich history of the Feldmeier Manufacturing plant, Cherry-Burrell, and D. H. Burrell and Company. Various tools are hidden in the sculpture. And the stainless steel reflects the use of this material in the manufacturing industry. The complex nature of stainless steel required Gardner, the artist of the sculpture, to train with Cherry-Burrell’s expert welders. The sculpture stands as a reminder to celebrate the rich history of industry in Little Falls.