VAA News

Generally, our society has been demanding results that are bigger, better and produced faster – this trend does not stop at the feed industry. Changes in transportation, storage and sanitation are contributing to a shift in design considerations and capabilities for large-scale feed mills. By addressing the benefits of these trends, facilities can develop a […]

Thirteen. Thirteen is the number of Mentor / Mentee pairings that participated in VAA’s 2016 Mentor Program. Established in 2011, the Program offers benefits beyond knowledge sharing to support staff in areas which can be overshadowed in a technically-driven industry. The mentoring relationship develops employee skills to navigate unfamiliar situations and better understand business and […]

The buzz at last week’s groundbreaking event for Cargill’s new $19 million feed facility in Shiawassee County was felt among project partners and community representatives. Nick Hubbard and Jared McCabe attended the event on behalf of VAA to field questions about our track and structural engineering. A 3D video created by VAA gave attendees a glance at […]

Whether you have a canine or feline furry friend, Fromm Family Foods (Fromm) serves you as a nationwide producer of quality pet food. In order to meet current critter demand, Fromm required faster speeds for their ingredient receiving and an increase in their storage capacity at their Columbus, WI pet food processing facility. VAA provided […]

Our Wellness & Community Outreach Committee organized an opportunity for VAA to participate in a Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) event. A group of volunteers raced the clock; hand-packing over 19,000 meals of raw products, dried vegetables and minerals into bags to be processed and shipped to children in Haiti. We are inspired by the […]

Donors generously showed their support surpassing VAA’s $12,000 goal for its “‘Kiss’ Hunger Goodbye” 2016 Canstruction build. As a tribute to the late Minnesota artist, Prince, VAA was inspired by the gathering in his honor earlier this year at First Avenue. Totaling 7,755 cans of food, a time-lapse video captures the build taking shape of […]

As the 41st Ryder Cup begins at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, many VAA employees are rounding out their Minnesota golf season to watch the best of the best in action. VAA provided professional civil and structural engineering services in the complete rebuild of Hazeltine’s clubhouse and surrounding site in 2010/11 to prepare […]

STEM Day kicked off “The Great Minnesota Get Together” with 35 exhibitors of the Minnesota STEM Network, an initiative of SciMathMN, sharing interactive activities with young Minnesota State Fair visitors. In The WorksMuseum booth, budding engineers explored light refraction with VAA volunteers by making sunglasses with “magical” rainbow lenses while enjoying greasy fair favorites. “It was great to […]

A two-hour weather delay did not deter Team VAA from participating in the 2016 Warrior Dash. The Team, sixteen employees and seven honorary VAA members, clad in blue conquered a 5K obstacle course by wrangling mud mounds, crawling through water-logged trenches and clamoring over cargo nets and more. The Team’s participation contributed to raising over […]

VAA’s connection with True Friends has included many activities over the past decade. Initiated by one of VAA’s founders in 2006, involvement at the camps began with individual volunteering, Eagle Scout mentoring and small “handy man” projects on site. As employees noticed a need for larger improvements, VAA offered and completed facility designs at Camp […]