About Bandit Industries

The year was 1983 when original founder Mike Morey Sr. left a prominent position in the woodchipper manufacturing industry to set out and build a better product. “Nobody would listen; not to me, or the product guys, or the customers telling us what they needed,” said Morey on the work environment that led him to start his own company. “Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe what it was like.

Mike finally had enough and with the support of his wife (and Bandit co-founder Dianne) and their children, he started a small company called Foremost Fabrications. He procured a 6,000 square foot repair shop located in a rural field approximately ten miles west of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He had the assistance of six employees, and using the designs his previous company had rejected, Mike and the fledgling team built the first Brush Bandit® chipper – the Model 100.

After the first unit was completed, Mike hit the road to promote the new chipper. Aside from the innovative design with the now-famous Slide Box Feed System, he pledged durability, honesty, integrity, and unwavering support as part of the Bandit ownership experience. It did not take long for before the first load of Bandit chippers hit the road.

In 1987 Jerry Morey and Dennis Tracy left the same company to join Mike and Dianne as co- owners, bringing significant experience in sales and marketing with them. The company name was officially changed from Foremost Fabrications to Bandit Industries, Inc. A big part of the sales and marketing strategy was to set-up a variety of dealers across the country that would provide unmatched support on all levels. Sadly, Dennis Tracy passed away in 1997 leaving Dianne, Mike, and Jerry as the three owners of Bandit.

In addition to manufacturing a complete line of hand-fed chippers, Bandit continued to grow by adding product lines throughout the years. Bandit pioneered the self-propelled chipper market by introducing the first whole tree track chipper in 1990. Bandit entered the horizontal grinder market in 1995 by unveiling The Beast® – a powerful horizontal grinder that would soon become one of the leading machines in the world for processing waste wood, plastic, roofing shingles, and much more.

Bandit continued enhancing its product offerings by developing a stump grinder product line and introduced them at the TCIA show in 2004. A line of track carriers was offered to the market in 2006 featuring interchangeable forestry mower and stump grinding heads. With the success of the track mulching carriers, a 60” and 72” forestry mulcher attachment for skid- steers was added in 2013.

2018 brought on a unique partnership with Arjes a company out of Limbach, Germany to be the exclusive North American representative to sell their line of slow speed shredders. The Arjes models excel at processing construction and demolition waste, chunk wood, concrete, metal and more. Overall Bandit now has six major product lines to serve a variety of markets.

As the product lines grew, so did the manufacturing capabilities. Averaging a major building expansion every two years, Bandits original 6,000 square foot shop grew to over 340,000 square feet of manufacturing space up until 2020. In 2018 a 19,600 square foot parts warehouse was constructed to increase parts staff and inventory. As the demand for Bandit products increased, the determination was made to dedicate significant resources in expansions. Building expansions included additions to the stump grinder and Beast assembly areas along with an addition to the hand-fed pre-assembly area. In 2022, a new state-of-the art material processing center was started. Once all expansions are completed, the total manufacturing space will be 560,000 square feet.

At the end of 2021, Bandit announced the purchase of Trelan located just a short distance from Bandit’s headquarters. Trelan has manufactured quality whole tree disc-style chippers since the seventies further enhancing Bandit’s line-up of whole tree chippers. In the summer of 2022, Bandit purchased Birch Tank located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. This purchase added another 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space and another 6,000 square feet of office space.

Bandit’s dealer network has always been a key to the success achieved. Bandit dealers invest significant resources in personnel, inventory, and support. Most dealers have dedicated parts, sales, and service employees to ensure customers are supported at the highest level. A significant number of new dealers have come on board over the last few years and the dealer network now consists of over 250 locations worldwide.

Throughout the years numerous Bandit employees have made a significant impact on the success of the company. The commitment for quality, innovation and dedication is instilled in every Bandit employee and one of the main reasons Dianne, Mike and Jerry decided to create and Employee-Owned Company (ESOP) in 2018.

In January of 2024, after serving Bandit as President and CEO sine 1987, Jerry Morey announced his retirement appointing  Craig Davis as the new President and CEO. Shortly after Craig became CEO, he announced the formation of a new management board to lead the company. More information on Craig and the new mangement team can be found under the news section of the website.

For additional information please continue to browse the Bandit website, contact a local Bandit dealer, or contact us directly at 800-952-0178 or email [email protected].