Ament Repair expands south of Bluffton with 40-by-72 addition, second hoist

Just south of Bluffton, Ament Repair and Welding expanded its shop footprint with a 40×72 addition and added a second hoist, moving the business toward a "nearly full-service" automotive and agricultural mechanic and welding operation, according to a New York Mills Dispatch report by Tucker Henderson published Feb. 27, 2026 at 5:05 p.m. GMT+0000.

The shop sits "down an unassuming gravel road just south of Bluffton" in the lakes-area region of east Otter Tail County, the Dispatch article states. The original summary of the expansion notes the 40×72 addition was "installed the prior fall," language that places construction in the months before the February 2026 article but does not specify an exact month or year in the supplied material.

Ament Repair and Welding is described in the Dispatch excerpt as serving automotive, agricultural and welding needs, and the article uses the verbatim line that the business "fills the needs of local drivers, farmers and anyone in need of some welding work." The added second hoist is listed as an increase in equipment capacity; the supplied notes do not give make, model or installation date for the hoist, nor do they quantify how many more vehicles or implements the shop can handle simultaneously.

The Dispatch item also reports the business is "now in its fourth year of operation." The article page carries the Feb. 27, 2026 timestamp, while the site header lists "Nymdispatch: Saturday, February 28, 2026," a one-day discrepancy between the article's internal timestamp and the site header. The Dispatch excerpt provided to this report begins a sentence with "Seth…" but is truncated and does not include the full name or any direct quotes attributed to that person in the supplied material.

Details not present in the available reporting include the unit designation for the 40×72 dimension, the cost of the addition and hoist, contractor or permit information, staffing changes tied to the expansion, and an itemized list of services encompassed by the "nearly full-service" description. Those specifics would clarify how the new bay and second hoist change daily throughput for local drivers and farmers in the lakes-area region.

By adding the 40×72 space and a second hoist, Ament Repair and Welding has increased its physical and equipment capacity south of Bluffton and signaled broader service availability for east Otter Tail County's automotive and agricultural customers; the Dispatch report places these changes in the period immediately preceding the Feb. 27, 2026 publication date.