Poynette Ironworks has built its business over the past 25 years by doing one thing and doing it really, really well. Simply put: We build a better container. Whether for commercial or industrial or municipal applications, built to any specs or any custom needs our customers can throw our way, we stand behind our work, our products and our process against any competitor.

Our roots are in the small town of Poynette in Wisconsin’s industrial heartland, where Poynette Ironworks was founded in 1996. Over the past 25 years, we’ve grown to a 110,000-square foot facility with more than 85 employees. We’ve delivered well over 30,000 truckloads of containers – the equivalent of nearly 400 million pounds of steel. Today, we are proud to be the Midwest’s largest and most reliable manufacturer of large-scale, heavy-duty manufactured steel products.

Our Products

From roll-off boxes, flatbed trucks, and large-scale dewatering boxes, to commercial trash dumpsters, receivers, and self-dumping hoppers, we help our customers meet all of their dumpster and container needs. We also sell parts and covers.

While we specialize in refuse and recycling containers – including signature products such as small box and large box containers for residential, commercial, construction, industrial and other applications – we also manufacture specialty use items such as chipper boxes, dock carts, grease bins and sea crates. In addition, we run a full custom shop to build any product our customers can imagine.

Our Team

We may be based in a small community, but we have made a big name for ourselves as a great place to work. From welders to painters to fabricators, we continually build our team of skilled craftspeople who are supported by a top-notch office staff and leadership team. We’ve made significant investments in recent years in enhancing our employee retirement plans and offering tangible quality-of-life benefits such as earning vacation from day one and company-supplemented transportation options.

The best testament we can receive is how team members help us recruit family members and friends, and that they can say with pride we offer a great place to work with great benefits. There are new trucks in the parking lot and new houses in the neighborhood, and lots of weddings and babies we all take pride in celebrating.

Our Core Values

For 25 years, we have remained committed to the following core values. These guiding principles shape how we approach every day, every product and every customer.

Innovation: Having started in the industry by repairing broken containers instilled a tenacity and problem-solving mind-set. That commitment to innovation is the catalyst that has helped us grow our offerings, both spec and custom, every year since we started. We never say no; instead our engineering professionals – with more than 100 years of combined experience – look for creative solutions to address any and every need. We believe attentive listening is the spark that fuels innovation.

Trust: Trust can only be built over time, which is why we like to say we’re “Tough, Time-Tested and Trusted.” Our customers trust us because we deliver for them on time, every time and have repeatedly shown that we stand behind every product we make and that we’ll stand up on quality and service over any competitor.

Excellence: We’re a little obsessed with the concept of continuous improvement, especially in the context of how our operations can best meet the needs of an evolving industry and customer base. The questions that drive our decision-making are: How can we take the best care of our team? Are we sourcing the best materials? Can we offer the best value to our customers? Do we need to adjust any of our processes?

Quality: For some, the word quality can feel like an over-used catch-all. For us, it’s what we live and breathe and eat for lunch every day. From the strength of our raw materials to our industrial enamel finishes, from the initial designs to unmatched integrity of finished products, our commitment to quality from top to bottom and start to finish means we simply build a better container.

Our History

Brothers Bob, Guy and Kim had a chance to get into the dumpster rebuilding business in 1996 and jumped on it. They started Poynette Ironworks with one small building, a rusty pick-up truck and a John Deere tractor. One other thing they had was their now-infamous mission statement, to “Kick our competition’s butts … by spoiling our customers rotten.”

Little by little they added more equipment and keep on spoiling those customers rotten, adapting and innovating to meet every need and request they received. Even as the company grew, they’d show up on deliveries and they’d answer the phone at the office. Riding the waves over every upturn and downturn thrown their way, this commitment was the foundation of their growth and success and continues to inform the how Poynette Ironworks operates, treats people and meets needs.