The SIGMA Story
SIGMA Equipment was founded in 2003 by CEO, Rob Palmer, after realizing that there was a common problem happening across the food and consumer goods industries; Companies needed better access to equipment and services that would help their operations flourish. Over the last 18 years, the SIGMA team has created a history to be proud of. The SIGMA brand has become one of the premier used equipment dealers in the country and has expanded into seven different divisions, each providing its own suite of expertise and offerings.
Facilities Growth
When SIGMA was originally founded in 2003, our headquarters were only a small warehouse that we very quickly outgrew. Since then, our company size and capabilities have increased tenfold and we haven’t looked back since.
2007
SIGMA’s First Warehouse
60,000 square feet
In 2007, SIGMA moved into our first leased 60,000 square foot facility at Garvin Business Park in Evansville, IN. This was also around the same time that we hired our first warehouse employee to help with the transporting. skidding, and loading of sold equipment. We quickly outgrew this warehouse and moved soon after.
2010
SIGMA’s Maxx Road Location
130,000 square feet
We quickly outgrew our first warehouse and moved into the Maxx Road location which became our new headquarters. This facility, combined with an off-site warehouse, gave us a total of 370,000 square feet with 8 dock loading doors, a drive-in ramp for equipment loading and unloading, and office spaces for all of our 70 employees.
2021
SIGMA’s Current Headquarters
660,000 square feet
Between adding multiple divisions and acquiring a new company, SIGMA has experienced monumental growth over the years. This expansion led to moving into our biggest building yet. With over 660,000 square feet, we now have the space to expand our offerings and are located at the intersection of I 64 and I 69, making logistics and shipping equipment out easier.
Services Growth
With over 18 years of experience, we are a leading provider of packaging and processing equipment as well as services that support the industry. SIGMA has grown into a “one-stop shop” for all of our customers’ equipment needs and provide customized solutions for our customers’ problems.
2008
Shop and Engineering Services
Services Added: Cycle Tests, Retooling, Set-To-Sizes, and More
After being in business for five years, we saw our business and sales steadily climb. With this growth came an increase in our customers’ needs and expectations of additional equipment services. Expanding our shop and engineering services in 2008 gave us the capabilities to tailor customers’ equipment to exactly fit their needs and get them ready for immediate production.
2013
Asset and Equipment Management
Services Added: Redeployment, Custom App for Inventory Management and More
SIGMA had become an industry leader and began diversifying our services even further. We started helping larger companies manage assets and redeploy or sell their idle equipment while keeping inventory down. We also began offering a wide variety of MRO spare parts with fast shipping options to help our customers repair their equipment and get their halted production line running as quickly as possible.
2017
Full-Suite of Services
Services Added: R2 Recycling and Data Destruction, Appraisals, Auctions, and More
As SIGMA has become more engrained with their customers, we continued to find even more new ways to assist with their growing equipment and project needs. That’s how we have evolved into SIGMA Group. In addition to already established brands like SIGMA Equipment and SIGMA Recovery, we now offer SIGMA Appraisal, SIGMA Auction, and C&I electronics to provide solutions to our customer’s needs.
Company Growth
SIGMA, which started off with just two employees, has grown into a fully-fledged, employee-owned company that’s made up of seven different divisions. The culture of our company runs deep and we are so proud of the employees and brands that make up the SIGMA Group.
Employee Owned Company
In 2020, SIGMA became an employee-owned company through an ESOP program (Employee Stock Option Program). The creation of this ESOP allows our employees to take ownership of the work they do every day and shows how each person’s role in the company has turned into real and successful results.
Hiring and Team Growth
The number of SIGMA employees and teams that make up the company has grown tremendously since it was first founded. Over the years we have introduced multiple new divisions and teams including marketing, acquisitions, auction, appraisal, logistics, warehouse, sales, IT/Development, facilities management, and more.
SIGMA’s Future
As we reflect back on our history and how much SIGMA has accomplished in just the past 18 years, we can’t help but be excited to see what the future holds for us. We will continue expanding our business, offerings, client base, and setting the standard for the packaging, processing, and facility support industries.
The SIGMA Story
SIGMA Equipment was founded in 2003 by CEO, Rob Palmer. After graduating from Purdue University with an engineering degree, he began working in the packaging and processing industry. He then soon realized that there was a common problem happening across production lines; Companies needed better access to equipment and services that will help their operations flourish. And so out of this need, Sigma Packaging, the company’s original name, was born in the upstairs of Rob’s garage in Evansville, IN with the goal of providing high-quality used packaging and processing equipment.
Over the last 17 years, Rob and his team have created a history to be proud of. The SIGMA brand has become one of the most premier used equipment dealers in the country and has expanded into six different divisions, each offering its own suite of expertise and offerings.
SIGMA Packaging
2003 – Sigma Packaging was founded by CEO Rob Palmer
2006 – Sigma moved into their first commercial warehouse and hired their first warehouse employee
2007 – Sigma quickly outgrew their first warehouse and moved to a 60,000 sq ft leased facility
2008 – Sigma’s first repair shop opened and they introduced their shop services division
2010 – Sigma moved again to a 130,000 sq ft warehouse. This location is their current headquarters and main warehouse for shipping and receiving operations
2012 – Sigma purchases their second facility and expands the front office to accommodate for a 30% company growth rate
2013 – Sigma launches SIGMA Surplus, a used MRO spare part supplier
2014 – Sigma move into their largest warehouse nearly 240,000 sq ft of warehousing space
SIGMA Equipment
2015 – Sigma Packaging rebrands to SIGMA Equipment while also making the Inc. 5,000 fastest growing company list. In the same year, SIGMA has the grand opening of their new modern 10,000 sq ft retooling and reconditioning shop so that their shop services now include, cycle tests, repairs, set-to-sizes, retoolings, and line integrations
2017 – SIGMA introduces a new division, SIGMA Recovery, an asset management program and customized software solution
2019 – Newly introduced SIGMA Auction brand begins hosting quarterly auctions. SIGMA Equipment also expands their 10,000 sq ft shop services facility, making it the largest in the country
2020 – SIGMA becomes an ESOP company and also introduces a new division, SIGMA Appraisal, a service providing certified reports on the market value of assets
SIGMA Group
March 2021 – SIGMA announces the SIGMA Group with a suite of new divisions
April 2021 – SIGMA acquires a business, C & I Electronics and welcomes them to the SIGMA Group as a new division
