Living in a materiaL worLd - Minnesota Precision Manufacturing ...

M a y / j u n e 2 0 1 0 

M a n u F A C T U R I N G 

Journal of the Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association 

Living 

in a material world 

Compete on Value - Breaking Through Sales Barriers 

Shop Profiles 

• Kurt Manufacturing Industrial Products Division 

• Laser 1 Technology 

• LOFTech 

Industry Profile Profile 

Hennepin Iron Technical Range Resources College 

Business is Growing

the 2010 

new generation 

After more than 20 years of industry firsts, we figured 2010 would be a 

good year to “up the ante” again. So we looked at any and every way 

to make Haas VMCs better, and then made one last change: 

We added more value. 

IMPROVED: motion control 

coolant containment • chip evacuation 

CNC interface • ergonomics • serviceability 

r e l e a s e d f o r a c t i v e d u t y : 0 1 . 0 1 . 1 0 

Haas Factory Outlet | A Division of Productivity Inc | 763.742.1263 | www.haasproductivity.com 

2 | PRECISION MANUFACTURING May | June 201 

Specifications subject to change without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors. Machines shown with optional equipment. 

Vertical Machining centers

TABLE | OF CONTENTS 

May | June 2010 

w w w . p m - m n . c o m 

7 

Features 

12 Shop Profile: 

Kurt Manufacturing Industrial Products Division 

Hundreds of New Kurt Workholding Options 

17 Industry Profile: Iron Range Resources 

Business is Growing 

21 Shop Profile: Laser 1 Technology 

Getting a Cut From Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds 

22 Competing on Value 

Breaking Through Sales Barriers 

by Terry Slattery 

24 Shop Profile: LOFTech 

Finding a Solid Partner in Metal Supermarkets Corporation 

17 24 

12 21 

Departments 

4 President’s Letter 

11 Who’s Who 

16 Made in MN 

26 Manufacturers’ 

Marketplace 

29 MPMA Member 

Directory 

33 Advertisers’ Index 

34 MPMA Highlights 

34 MPMA Calendar 

May | June 2010 PRECISION MANUFACTURING | 3

PRESIDenT’S | LETTER 

Trust 

IN our EMPLOyEES 

by Mike Gramse 

Leaving On A Jet Plane,” that is how 

the song goes. I’m doing that tomorrow. 

And, though I know for many people 

flying is not uncommon, for me this is 

going to be an unusual event. 

I spent 4 years in the Navy aboard 

ship, primarily in Asia, so I have not had 

any desire to go on a ship again and be 

isolated at sea. But, after nearly 40 years, 

I have given in. Some friends had asked 

us to go on a cruise and, not expecting 

them to find one, I said, if you can cruise 

to South East Asia we’ll go. Well, they 

found a cruise. We are flying to Bangkok, 

boarding a cruise ship, and spending 16 

days touring various ports from Bangkok 

to Beijing. 

This may not be a big deal for many 

of you, but for me it is. I’m excited to 

get back to many of the places I visited 

under different circumstances during the 

Vietnam War. Ten years ago, Eva and I 

were in Beijing; I’m anxious to see how 

that has changed since the Olympics. 

I thought all of this might be of some 

interest because, as we have prepared for 

this trip—as a job shop owner with around 

50 employees, working through the 

recession for the past 18 months—I have 

been very apprehensive. I even bought trip 

insurance, so I could simply cancel the trip 

if I wasn’t comfortable going. 

When I agreed to the cruise, I expected 

the recession to be over by now, with 

everything back to normal—or as normal 

as it can be in a job shop environment. 

For us that is not the case yet, as of March 

when I’m writing this letter. 

This really has been a challenge for me, 

deciding whether or not to go ahead and 

take the trip. It made me realize what great 

people I have working for me, and I’m sure 

you have working for or with you. 

I confirmed the realization: They 

are the people making the company 

successful. I had to think about how much 

I don’t think we give 

our employees all 

of the appreciation 

we should; but we 

need to, for their 

own sense of value 

and for our peace of 

mind as owners. 

trust I had in my employees, which would 

allow me to be gone for 3 weeks. I had to 

trust that they would do the quotes, get 

the work done and meet our customers’ 

needs. But they do that every day anyway. 

What did I have to worry about? 

In my case I have various department 

heads, a great administrative staff and 

a second generation involved. This 

structure provided me with peace of 

mind, knowing that they will run this 

business while I am gone. 

I don’t think we give our employees 

all of the appreciation we should; but we 

need to, for their own sense of value and 

for our peace of mind as owners. 

I am able to leave with a very 

comfortable feeling: Our company will run 

well in my absence, and I will have a greater 

appreciation for my staff when I return. 

Think about how this relates to your 

company and your staff. PM 

MIKE GRAMSE is president 

of MRG Tool & Die Corp. in 

Faribault, Minn. He can be 

reached at 

mgramse@toolanddie.net. 

www.pm-mn.com 

Supporting Minnesota in becoming 

the world leader in precision contract 

manufacturing and related technologies. 

EDITOR | PUBLICATIONS MANAGER 

Amy Slettum 

SALES MANAGER 

Tim Crolley 

DESIGNER | ART DIRECTOR 

Severyn Skoug 

MINNESOTA PRECISION 

MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION 

5353 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 207 

Minneapolis, MN 55416 

952.564.3041 

www.mpma.com 

MPMA OFFICERS 

President 

Mike Gramse, MRG Tool & Die Corp. 

Vice President 

Bob Miller, Kendeco Tool Crib 

Treasurer 

Paul Huot, Huot Manufacturing Company 

Secretary 

Kim Arrigoni, Haberman Machine, Inc. 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

Jaime Nolan, CAE 

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR 

Luann Bartley 

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE 

Chair, Editor-in-Chief 

Brenda Kyle 

blk@sppa.com 

Michelle Gates 

mgates@bpkz.com 

Denny Nybo 

dennynybo@comcast.net 

Bill Remes 

billr@ameristarmfg.com 

Chuck Remillard 

chuckr@kurt.com 

Ted Roberts 

troberts@robertsautomatic.com 

Andrew Skoog 

apskoog@gmail.com 

Fred Zimmerman 

zimco@visi.com 

For editorial, advertising or 

membership information: 

Voice: 952.564.3041 

Fax: 952.252.8096 

Precision Manufacturing (ISSN 0273-7523), 

is published six times per year by IntrinXec 

Management Inc., 5353 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 

207, Minneapolis, MN 55416. Precision 

Manufacturing is the only authorized regular 

publication of the Minnesota Precision 

Manufacturing Association (MPMA). Opinions 

and conclusions expressed in the magazine 

are those of the individual writer and do 

not necessarily reflect the official position 

of the MPMA or its officers. Advertising 

rates provided on request. Correspondence 

regarding the magazine, including industry 

news releases, photographs and press releases 

relating to precision manufacturing should be 

sent to Precision Manufacturing, Amy Slettum, 

c/o IntrinXec Management, Inc., 5353 Wayzata 

Blvd., Suite 207, Minneapolis, MN 55416. 

Electronic correspondence, including attached 

files in Word or plain text formats, may be sent 

to amy@mpma.com. Unsolicited materials will 

not be returned. POSTMASTER: Send address 

changes to: Precision Manufacturing, c/o 

IntrinXec Management, Inc., 5353 Wayzata 

Blvd., Suite 207, Minneapolis, MN 55416. 

Copyright ©2010 Minnesota Precision 

Manufacturing Association. 

4 | PRECISION MANUFACTURING May | June 2010

Make the Right Moves Early in Your Business 

You worked hard to create a successful, respected business. The opening moves of your exit strategy 

plan will ultimately help determine your final financial victory. 

Many professional advisors suggest putting a succession plan in place at least five years before you 

intend to retire…10 years may be even better. In fact, some recommend that an exit strategy be built 

into the initial business plan. 

Proper planning for your business and personal need should address: 

• Retirement income 

• The death and disability of an owner 

• The departure of a business owner 

• Family members involved in the business 

Avoid a future problem and make the first move now. To help assure financial security for you, your 

family, and your business, contact your Federated representative or your association office for 

information on Federated’s Financial Protection Services. The advantage will be yours. 

It’s Our Business to Protect Yours ® 

09.04 Ed. 4-09 • The FEDERATED Insurance Companies • Home Office: 121 East Park Square • Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 

Phone: (507) 455-5200 • www.federatedinsurance.com 


Living 

in a material world 

The cost and availability of raw materials may make 

it harder for manufacturers to ramp up again. 

The demand for metals and other commodities plummeted in 

late 2008 and 2009 as economies around the world suffered from a 

sharp downturn. Prices followed and, in some cases, bottomed out, 

providing at least some relief for manufacturers. 

That relief was short-lived, however. World activity, while not 

exactly thriving, is showing signs of life. In anticipation of better 

economic output, many commodity prices are well above their 

recent lows. 

Manufacturing activity now has been up for several consecutive 

months in a row, meaning more and more companies are busy 

ordering and trying to replenish their inventory. Surcharges, price 

increases and short supplies of even some common items seem to 

characterize today’s market. Will manufacturers be able to get the 

material they need, when they need it, at a fair price? It depends. 

During the recession, most manufacturers cleaned out their 

inventory; the mills and service centers did the same. Although 

manufacturing has been picking up, many of those mills and 

service centers are trailing behind, running at 50 or 60 percent 

capacity. Demand is outstripping inventory levels. 

Miles Free, director of industry research and technology at the 

Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA), said it this 

way: “Until larger inventories of scrap build-up from increases in 

the production, the industry and its supply chain face a paradox 

of no scrap from which to make steel, therefore no steel to make 

parts, therefore no scrap to make steel. It’s the classic chicken and 

the egg situation.” 

In addition, China and other countries are consuming raw 

materials at a faster rate than the United States. PMPA estimates 

that China consumes about 31 percent of all the steel in the world. 

Other sources say that figure is closer to 50 percent—and growing. 

Prices remain highly volatile and are based more on investor 

interest and speculation than on true supply and demand. 

Of course, prices are being influenced by a surge in Chinese 

consumption as well. 

“The global price of metals is really more reflective of Chinese 

demand than local neighborhood demand,” Free said. “They’re the 

ones setting the price because they’re the big user.” 

From December of 2008 to December of 2009, the price of 

copper went up 112 percent. Aluminum went up 44 percent; nickel 

increased by 27 percent; and steel was up by 35 percent. 

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, a large steelmaker 

advised steel consumers to brace for the onset of much higher steel 

prices in the coming months—increases of 70 percent or more. 

>>> 


COVer | RAW MATERIALS 

STEEL USE AROUND THE WORLD 

Other Europe 

3% 

New EU 

2% 

EU 

14% 

CSI Former 

(USSR) 

13% 

Source: PMPA 

NAFTA 

13% 

Others 

10% 

OtherAsia 

15% 

Impact on Manufacturers 

Not all manufacturers are being 

affected by material bottlenecks and 

price swings, however. While some are 

scrambling to fill inventories, others have 

barely noticed any changes at all. 

Kurt Manufacturing Company 

Inc., which purchases large amounts of 

aluminum and steel, hasn’t experienced 

any problems ordering raw materials — 

only steady price increases. Over the last 

6 months, the company has been ordering 

quite a bit of metal to keep up with orders, 

and Brad Carlstrom, Kurt’s purchasing 

manager, believes it’s a buyer’s market. 

“The supplies still seem to be strong,” 

he said. “I guess it depends on what type 

of metal you’re chasing, but for basic 

aluminums, steels and stainless, I haven’t 

had any problems. On the other hand, a 

real uptick in demand will cause issues. 

There’s no question that the service 

centers around the Twin Cities have been 

a cushion for us.” 

Carlstrom said he hasn’t noticed a 

difference in lead times, either. However, 

he has noticed a steady increase in the 

price of aluminum, which crept up to 

over a dollar per pound earlier this year. 

“But that’s going to turnaround,” he said. 

“I’m anticipating that quarter by quarter, 

we’ll see a drop in aluminum prices.” 

It’s a different story at Cass Screw 

Machine Products Company, which 

purchases mostly carbon rounds to make 

screw machined products. 

China 

31% 

Japan 

8% 

In the fall of last 

year, Kalei Ensead, who 

works in the company’s 

purchasing department, 

began noticing that 

some distribution 

centers couldn’t fill 

her orders, especially 

if she needed larger 

quantities. She said she 

wasn’t ordering anything 

special, just standard 

grade carbon steel. 

“We’re getting busier 

and looking for materials 

that just aren’t there,” 

Ensead said. 

Now, instead of buying 

10,000 pounds of stock 

from one vendor, she is 

buying it from three. 

In addition, Ensead is dealing with 

higher prices. “When you run into a 

situation where availability is slim, you 

start going outside of your normal source 

and you end up paying more,” she said. 

“Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay more for 

a product than to have a machine sit for 

3 days.” 

Impact on Distribution Centers 

Demand seems to be picking up 

at distribution centers, although it is 

nowhere near the level of early 2008. 

The question is whether the demand is 

temporary or long-term. If it’s temporary, 

many distribution centers will continue to 

operate at less than full capacity. 

EMJ Metals 

Orders are way up at EMJ Metals 

from this time last year. The company is 

on pace to do over $100 million in sales 

this year and beat last year’s revenue by 

20 percent. 

EMJ is owned by Reliance Steel & 

Aluminum Company, which is one of 

the largest metals service centers in the 

United States. Mike Goepfrich, general 

sales manager, said he doesn’t think most 

manufacturers are having problems with 

availability, especially if they’re ordering 

standard grade, but it depends on where 

they order it. 

He said he’s seeing more people 

who are normally mill buyers turn to 

distribution centers for their metals 

because they can’t wait 6 to 12 weeks. 

“I’ve never had a customer call me and 

tell me they’re going to fire me because of 

a price,” he said. “But I have had people tell 

me they’re going to fire me because I didn’t 

have the stock they needed.” 

In the meantime, Goepfrich expects 

metal prices to increase in the short-term, 

at least until the third quarter when they 

may begin to flatten out. 

Spectro Alloys Corporation 

When the Cash for Clunkers program 

went into effect, the automakers were 

caught off-guard and so were many of 

their material suppliers. Spectro Alloys 

Corporation, which converts secondary 

aluminum scrap into a new alloy, was 

one of them. The company had been 

producing at 50 percent capacity when it 

was suddenly slammed with orders. 

“We were going to our suppliers and 

they weren’t able to supply fast enough,” 

said Alan Gergen, regional sales manager. 

He believes the supply chain is still 

tight, resulting in longer lead times and 

less flexibility in pricing. He attributes 

much of the shortage to China and India. 

“If the United States used its own 

scrap, there would be enough,” Gergen 

said. “But it’s all being exported. The 

U. S. government doesn’t really see that 

as a problem because they see this huge 

trade deficit and they get excited when we 

send things overseas.” 

Cost has been another challenge 

for Spectro Alloys. At one point a year 

ago, the basic aluminum alloy that the 

company produces cost .65 cents per 

pound. Today it’s $1.03 per pound. 

Gergen expects to see a market, for 

raw materials, that is flat to up over the 

next year. His advice to manufacturers 

is to budget for the cost of the products 

they’re making—and stick to it. 

“Buy according to that budget instead 

of trying to beat the market,” he said. 

Chicago Tube & Iron 

Chicago Tube & Iron is one of the 

largest steel service centers in the United 

States, with 10 subsidiaries throughout the 

Midwest. It was hit hard by the recession. 

During the first 3 quarters of 2008, the 

price of scrap was as high as $800 per ton 

and the company was on track to have a 

record year. During the fourth quarter, 

however, orders came to an abrupt halt. 

The price of scrap dropped in half and so 


COVer | RAW MATERIALS 

did demand. It proved to be a very bad 

year for the company. 

After bottoming out last July, Chicago 

Tube & Iron finally is seeing a modest 

increase in demand, although it is down 

considerably from early 2008. Larry 

Soehrman, vice president of materials 

management, said the company is 

beginning to keep a little more material 

on hand, anticipating demand to pick up 

in the second half of the year. However, 

he thinks lead times are a bigger problem 

than supply right now. 

“One of the biggest problems is 

that most of the mills and distributors 

are working at less than full capacity,” 

he said. “So if there’s a slight uptick in 

demand, it shows up fairly quickly. That’s 

why we’re seeing lead times increase a 

bit. It’s not because there’s a problem 

with supply; it’s because there aren’t as 

many people working.” 

His advice to manufacturers is to 

plan ahead. 

“If you have any unusual items that 

are critical to a customer base, you’re 

better off getting those on order sooner 

rather than later; because, if there is a 

ramp up, it will be difficult for suppliers 

to react as quickly as they did before, 

because they’re running on shorter hours 

and shorter staff,” Soehrman said. 

The Future of the Market 

Free said he can’t predict when 

prices will level out again, but he 

expects them to remain highly volatile 

this year as the economy gets into fits 

and starts with recovery. 

Surcharges, he believes, have become 

a permanent feature in the market for 

raw materials used in manufacturing, 

and shops that offer fixed prices for their 

products do so at their own peril. 

He and other analysts will be keeping 

a close eye on the housing and auto 

industries. Houses require large amounts 

of steel, and contractors drive light trucks, 

which also require large amounts of steel. 

These two industries are a major part of 

the metal ecosystem and have a significant 

effect on supply, demand and price. 

Natural disasters are another powerful 

influence on the price of metals. One 

day after an earthquake struck Chile, for 

example, copper prices went up 2 percent. 

Chile is the world’s largest producer 

of copper and, although the mines 

themselves weren’t damaged, electricity 

was interrupted. 

So how do you intelligently manage 

risk when the price of your raw 

material—which may be half your part 

costs—doubles? 

“You don’t give firm prices for a year, 

that’s for sure,” Free said. 

“The advice I would give 

manufacturers,” he concluded, “is that it’s 

probably more important to know where 

you can find material than what you 

ultimately will pay for it. I’m not saying 

give away your product, but price for 

immediate delivery trumps low price for 

2 months out from now.” 

It’s a material world, indeed. PM 

Melissa DeBilzan is a contributing writer 

for Intrinxec Management, Inc. She can be 

reached at melissa@mpma.com. 

THE RISING COSTS OF RAW MATERIALS 

600 

550 

500 

450 

400 

Aluminum (cents per pound) 

Brass (cents per pound) 

Copper (cents per pound) 

Nickel Scrap (cents per pound) 

Steel Scrap ($ per gross ton) 

China Coke ($ per ton) 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Mar 09 Apr 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 Aug 09 Sep 09 Oct 09 Nov 09 Dec 09 Jan 10 Feb 10 Mar 10 

Source: PMPA 



who’s | WHO 

Lori and Traci Tapani, Wyoming Machine, Inc. 

MORE THAN ONE BOTTOM LINE 

by B Kyle 

The theme of “possibility” is an 

interesting one. Ford, Edison, Disney, 

Robbins, Nietzsche and so many others 

all speak of the power to be found in 

exploring the “what could be’s.” 

Lori and Traci Tapani, sisters and copresidents 

of Wyoming Machine, Inc., a 

precision metal fabricator, demonstrate 

their ease with this concept. 

LT: It’s how we were raised. It was the 

foundation of our upbringing. We had a 

stay-at-home mom, and a former Marine 

dad. Both are hardworking and really 

creative. On Saturday we might be mixing 

cement and learning how to make cement 

stairs with our dad because he thought it 

was critical that we know how to do these 

things. And then on Sunday we would 

cook and bake with mom. 

Once you get used to a life filled 

with “outside the box” choices, you get 

comfortable in that space. And you can 

expand that attitude to other aspects of 

your life. 

These sisters joined their dad at 

Wyoming Machine in 1994, leaving 

financial careers to enter a world in which 

they were very much the odd ones out. 

Q: How long did it take for you to 

find your own rhythm as leaders and 

women in the manufacturing arena? 

TT: [Smiling at Lori, as together 

they share a moment to silently reflect 

on the challenges they’ve shared.] 

Once we came to the realization that 

we never would really fit in, as women 

and mothers, when we came to grips 

that it wasn’t happening, we finally 

laughed and relaxed into figuring out 

how to do business our way. And, you 

know, business got better, relationships 

expanded, because we weren’t trying to 

be something we weren’t. 

LT: The process of fully becoming 

ourselves as leaders started hitting 

home for us when our software 

company selected Wyoming Machine as 

Lori and Traci Tapani, co-presidents of 

Wyoming Machine, Inc. 

a beta site for their new lean scheduling 

program. We were one of 15 companies 

in the nation selected, because we had 

a reputation for being progressive and a 

willingness to try new things. 

TT: Then other things began to 

happen. We got an opportunity to do 

an online Webinar for IndustryWeek 

magazine. To be quite honest, we 

continue to be surprised that folks are 

interested in what we have to say. It’s 

extraordinary. 

Q: You both are unique in that 

you seem to be keenly aware of 

the connectedness between your 

thinking and the results you are 

experiencing in both your personal 

and professional lives. 

LT: What you might discover in 

meeting with us is that our formula 

for success is constantly changing. 

Our core is about being true to self, 

about integrating personal values with 

professional disciplines. Add to that 

our “special sauce” of possibility and 

connectedness, and we think we’ve got a 

winning combination. 

Earlier this year we were invited to 

speak at St. Catherine University, to an 

organizational leadership class entitled 

Servant Leadership. At this event we 

met other women struggling with 

servant leadership, with the challenges 

of reconciling personal values with 

professional choices. 

It was there that we shared the 

concept that, to our way of thinking, 

there is more than one bottom line 

in business. Obviously, we need 

profitability. But if that’s at the expense 

of human relations and your family, then 

maybe the business is not so successful 

after all. 

Q: How did the women respond? 

TT: The audience was full of midlife, 

professional women, who from my 

perspective had remarkable careers of 

their own. And yet many of them spoke 

about being inspired by the simple fact 

that we stepped out into the unknown 

when we took on this business. 

Q: What do you think is the biggest 

hurdle for these women—that they 

feel you somehow overcame? 

TT: There’s a difference between 

having professional competence and 

having an inner belief that you actually 

can do whatever you want to. Lori and 

I were raised in such a way that, in all 

honesty, it would never occur to us that 

we could not do something. This doesn’t 

mean you’re not afraid sometimes, but 

that we are open to the possibility of 

doing something different. It seems to 

me, with some people, there is a level of 

doubt about this. 

LT: As soon as we stopped trying to 

fit in regarding business, and we became 

open to the possibility that being different 

might not be so bad, our world expanded. 

We’re discovering that your life is 

smaller if you’re not willing to consider 

the possibility in every opportunity. PM 

B KyLE is the vice 

president of business 

development at the Saint 

Paul Port Authority in St. 

Paul, Minn. She can be 

reached at blk@sppa.com. 


shOP | PROFILE 

Kurt Workholding 

HuNDREDS OF NEW WORKHOLDING OPTIONS 

The new Kurt FMS has a total of 32 different workholding fixtures. 

In order to provide manufacturers 

of precision parts with more options 

to compete globally, Kurt Industrial 

Products has expanded its workholding 

to include an astonishing array of 

products. Dozens of new workholding 

designs have been introduced in the last 

year alone. With them, a new automated 

manufacturing system has been installed 

at Kurt to provide very fast product 

turnaround with the highest quality. 

Users of these new Kurt products rave 

about the results they are experiencing. 

“We wanted to manufacture Kurt 

workholding using as much of our 

own product as possible,” reported 

Steve Tschida, manufacturing manager 

for Kurt. “We wanted customers and 

prospects to see how our new offerings 

could help them become much more 

efficient and compete better in a global 

economy. We utilized standard Kurt 

workholding, custom engineered 

workholding, the Kurt DockLock system 

and Kurt engineered systems to put this 

cell together. In short, we wanted to make 

this a showpiece of all Kurt’s abilities to 

present and prospective customers.” 

The flexible manufacturing system 

(FMS) has a total of 32 different 

workholding fixtures. All of these are 

designed around a four-machine Mazak 

Palletech system consisting of 36 pallet 

stockers and two load stations. Seven 

of the workholding fixtures have been 

outfitted with an automatic coupling 

device designed by Kurt engineers. 

Four of these fixtures are designed to 

show the programmer how to approach 

more sides of a part, allowing rough 

machining operations to be completed 

in a single operation. These fixtures 

have hydraulic pistons that are key to 

the rigidity of the machining process for 

producing highly precise components 

and a quality end product. 

Twenty-five of the manual fixtures in 

the FMS line were designed with a similar 

goal—to machine all of the components 

in a single operation, using as much 

standard Kurt products as possible. 

Customers Like Haberman Machine, 

Inc. Benefit From Kurt’s Workholding 

Expertise 

Kurt provided a well-known Twin 

City precision machining company, 

Haberman Machine, Inc, with modified, 

standard workholding that reduces setup 

time while increasing productivity. Two 

customized Kurt XL vises are mounted 

back-to-back and vertically. The setup 

eliminates the need for a tombstone and 

provides center-of-gravity machining 

with vibration-free rigidity. 

The new workholding setup replaced 

a much slower setup process on vertical 

machining centers where parts were 

clamped lying down. In the new setup, 

the matched Kurt vises both have huge, 

21-inch jaw openings for clamping 

vertical steel workblanks weighing well 

over 100 pounds. Important also, the 

workholding setup is designed for use on 

two different sized machine pallets, giving 

Haberman Machine maximum flexibility 

to machine a wider range of large parts. 

“This is really a great workholding 

setup,” reports Scott Ness of Haberman 

Machine. “We eliminated the need for 

a tombstone, which saves us $5,000 to 

$8,000, and we’re not sacrificing clamping 

rigidity. The fact that we can center 

workpieces and take advantage of gravity 

in the setup really prevents vibration 

and tool chatter when making the most 

aggressive cuts. Our operators like it 

because it’s easier to setup and there are 

no machining clearance issues. We’re 

We eliminated the need for a tombstone, 

which saves us $5,000 to $8,000, and we’re 

not sacrificing clamping rigidity. 

- Scott Ness, Haberman Machine, Inc. 


PAID SUPPLEMENT

getting top machine speeds, great finishes 

and no scrapped parts. Thanks again to 

Kurt for the workholding solution.” 

Super Torquer Systems Reduces 

Component Machining 65 Percent 

With Kurt Workholding 

Four Kurt HDM6AL double station 

vises mounted side by side on a vertical 

machining center reduced part machining 

costs by 65 percent, utilizing quick change 

jaws and some clever process planning. 

Most of the major components in this vise 

setup are now processed in Kurt’s FMS. 

Super Torquer Systems’ setup 

includes four Kurt HDM6AL vises that 

clamp four high carbon steel blanks, 

which are machined into 40 swing 

weights, used in the “Heel Clicker” 

clutch kit for popular snowmobile 

models. The machining process saves 65 

percent in machining costs. 

Initial justification for this setup was 

that four Kurt HD twin station vises 

provided high density for holding four of 

the cam arms per vise. In addition, these 

vises provided a flexible platform using 

machined changeable jaws for holding and 

machining other components in the clutch 

weight assemblies. That, plus the machined 

jaws are easily changed so machine 

downtime is minimal, part holding rigidity 

is excellent and repeatable accuracy is a 

given. A major additional benefit—the 

setup holds 10 parts per vise instead of the 

original four parts. 

Cindy Nouis, CNC programmer/ 

co-owner of Super Torquer said, “The 65 

percent cost reduction should pay for the 

new setup three times over the first year.” 

Proof Is In The Orders 

Kurt is currently delivering a quarter 

of a million dollars in automated custom 

workholding fixtures to a Tier One 

automotive manufacturer. The initial order 

calls for 10 custom workholding fixtures to 

be integrated with robot arms into existing 

automated transfer lines for precision 

machining automotive bearing housings. 

The 65 percent cost 

reduction should 

pay for the new 

setup three times 

over the first year. 

- Cindy Nouis, CNC 

programmer / co-owner of 

Super Torquer Systems 

The customer’s old workholding 

devices were limited to a 30-micron 

tolerance. Kurt’s newly delivered fixtures 

hold parts flat, to under 12 microns, while 

maintaining a 1.67 Cpk level. Now that’s 

quality… Kurt quality! 

PAID SUPPLEMENT 


Innovation and excellence 

create a resourceful 

MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE 

PARTNERS 

Minnesota State University, Mankato, Lead University 

Alexandria Technical College, Alexandria 

Anoka Technical College, Anoka 

Hennepin Technical College, Eden Prairie and Brooklyn Park 

Normandale Community College, Bloomington 

Northeast Higher Education District 

Hibbing Community College, Hibbing 

Itasca Community College, Grand Rapids 

Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, Eveleth and Virginia 

Vermillion Community College, Ely 

Rainy River Community College, International Falls 

South Central College, North Mankato and Faribault 

A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 

system. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system 

is an Equal Opportunity employer and educator. 

www.mnceme.org Follow us on 

at www.twitter.com/maximizemn 


Gun Drilling 

Now is the time to take your shot! 

There has never been a better time to start or relocate your business in Northeastern Minnesota. 

Be a player in the unprecedented economic expansion poised on our horizon. 

It’s time to see beyond our great golf and northwoods charm, and take a serious look at 

the opportunities at hand: 

1. Unprecedented growth 

2. Innovation 

3. Home to world-class global companies 

4. Quality of place 

5. Millions available for financing 

Contact our Business Development Team today and find out how Iron Range Resources 

can assist you with financing, site selection and incentive packages that are way above par. 

877-829-3936 

ironrangeresources.net 

Your vision. Our backing. 


MADE | IN MINNESOTA 

Bright (Solar) Ideas 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

by Bill Remes 

In 2008, the founders of tenKsolar, 

Inc. founded their company with an 

idea—an idea to design and build a 

better solar panel. Identifying the 

problems with solar panels as they 

currently existed, tenKsolar knew it 

had better ideas for a design that would 

produce more energy, more safety and 

with less cost. As the old saying goes, 

they could “build a better mousetrap.” 

Located in Burnsville, Minn., 

tenKsolar now has launched their new 

line of RAIS modules, which stands for 

redundant array of integrated solar. 

The current design of most solar 

panels involves each one of the cells 

being wired or linked together in a 

series. So, when one or several of the 

cells is blocked and not working, large 

portions, if not all, of the solar panel 

fail to work—not generating power. 

[Remember the old strings of Christmas 

tree lights? When one of the lights went 

out—all of the lights went out. Solar 

panels, when linked in series, almost are 

that bad.] 

tenKsolar’s RAIS modules utilize a 

cell matrix architecture design in their 

coupling and output. One portion of 

a solar panel may be blocked, or fail, 

and a majority of the power still will 

be generated by that panel. And each 

module can stand alone—generating 

power when other modules for whatever 

reason may not be operating. The 

modules are designed so that energy 

literally finds an alternative path toward 

the output coupler. 

The National Renewable Energy 

Laboratory (NREL) has established 

an industry standard for the efficiency 

rating of solar panels, which are 

measured in photovoltaic (PV) watts. 

NREL rates other currently available 

solar panels as having generally a 77 to 

82 percent efficiency rating, with only a 

72 to 74 percent efficiency rating after 

10 years of operation. 

Due to the 

efficiency of their 

design, the tenKsolar 

panels are showing 

test results with an 

initial efficiency of 

91 to 92 percent, 

with an efficiency 

of approximately 87 

percent even after 10 

years of operation. 

To boost the 

efficiency even 

further, the solar 

panel design also 

takes advantage of 

reflected light. Most 

solar panels only 

use direct sunlight. 

Whereas, mounting of highly reflective 

panels, adjacent to a tenKsolar panel, 

adds a significant amount to the total 

energy output. 

Due to the fact that light can be 

reflected onto the panels, the optimal 

mounting angle of each solar panel— 

which generally is equal to the latitude 

at which the panels are installed (45 

degrees latitude for Minnesota)—is not 

quite as important for tenKsolar panels. 

Two other important features that 

tenKsolar has designed into their 

product offering include: 

▶▶Product Safety. Each panel 

operates at 48 volts—a voltage that 

is more safe for anyone who may 

come in contact with the panel. 

Conventional panels operate on as 

much as 600 volts—a lethal dose of 

electricity if you come in contact 

inadvertently. 

▶▶Lightweight. tenKsolar panels 

are all made with an aluminum 

backplane, ensuring a good silicone 

seal, which also keeps humidity 

This tenKsolar solar panel module, even with partial snow 

coverage, will still produce 82 percent of full area power; whereas a 

conventional solar panel might only produce less than 10 percent. 

out. The installations are virtually 

all aluminum structures, which is 

far less costly and far less weight 

than steel. This weight reduction 

means that many solar modules, 

particularly large solar modules, will 

not overburden the weight bearing 

capacity of the structure in which 

they are mounted. In most instances, 

the modules can be attached with no 

roof penetration (less opportunity 

for a roof to leak). tenKsolar claims 

to have the lowest pounds per square 

foot (with the highest kW rating) 

available today. 

There are many bright ideas 

designed into these new state-of-the-art 

solar panels, conceived and produced 

right here in Minnesota. PM 

BILL REMES is the director 

of sales & marketing for 

AmeriStar Manufacturing 

Inc. in Mankato, Minn. He 

can be reached at 

billr@ameristarmfg.com. 

sponsored by | HEGMAN MACHINE TOOL INC. 


Industry Profile 

Iron range resources 


 

Business is 

GROW 

NG 

As the only region in Minnesota with its own state development agency, northeastern Minnesota has a 

crop of grants, loans and venture capital available for companies that choose to relocate or expand in 

the area. Today, the region is home to many growing businesses and $6.4 billion worth of development. 

Iron Range Resources, a state agency funded by taconite 

production taxes, is focused exclusively on the success of 

businesses in northeastern Minnesota, providing them 

with vital funding and support. 

GROwing businesses 

Access to capital is critical for new and growing 

companies, especially in a tight credit market. The 

financing programs available through Iron Range 

Resources are among the most wide-ranging and creative 

in the country. 

Iron Range Resources can provide low or no interest 

loans, revenue bonds, training assistance and grants in 

some cases. Sometimes it’s possible to structure debt 

forgiveness into certain projects if they meet criteria tied 

to job creation and retention. 

GROwing communities 

In addition to assisting businesses, Iron Range 

Resources is strengthening surrounding communities. 

By providing grants to local governments for business 

and residential infrastructure development, the agency is 

paving the way for community growth. 

GROwing workforce 

Iron Range Resources is helping to grow the region’s 

workforce through an educational model called The 

Applied Learning Institute. This is a partnership of 

school districts and colleges ensuring high school 

students are able to earn college credit for technical 

education classes, not just liberal arts classes. 

Iron Range Resources is advancing the region’s 

workforce through the Arrowhead Institute of 

Technology, which allows students to earn bachelor’s 

and master’s degrees without leaving the region. Since 

the program is completely project-based, students 

spend the majority of their time learning in industry, 

not the classroom. 

>>> 

Over the last 3 years, 

enrollment in the 

Applied Learning 

Institute has grown by 

271 percent. In addition, 

enrollment in postsecondary 

technical 

programs increased by 

73.2 percent. 


Iron Range Resources 

has invested $65.6 

million in loans to new 

and existing businesses 

in the region. Those 

loans were leveraged an 

average of nearly 4.5 

times, creating a total 

business investment 

impact of $294.2 

million and creating and 

retaining 4,193 jobs. 


Iron Range Resources 

has provided more than 

$90 million in grants 

to fund community and 

economic development, 

including over $5 

million for renewable 

energy initiatives. 

Since 1990, the agency 

has helped fund the 

development of 2,200 

housing units and 25 

industrial parks. 

www.ironrangeresources.com



Magnetation, Incorporated 

www.magnetation.com 

Shortly after opening its doors in February of 

2009, Magnetation knew it was time to expand. 

Based in Nashwauk, Minn., Magnetation has 

developed a proprietary—and highly profitable— 

process that converts natural ore waste into iron. 

Magnetation sets up shop near old tailings 

basins. Scattered across the region, these basins 

store the waste from iron ore mining. The waste 

is processed through Magnetation’s equipment 

and iron concentrate is drawn out and sold to 

iron makers and steel mills. 

When Magnetation is finished with the tailings 

basins, it converts these wastelands into ecologically 

functioning wetlands. The company then moves onto the 

next tailings basin site. 

“Northeastern Minnesota is a great place for an 

entrepreneurial effort like ours because of the financing 

that’s available through Iron Range Resources, which is 

not something you can get just anywhere,” said Larry 

Lehtinen, CEO and majority owner. “They’ve allowed a 

business like ours to come into existence that otherwise 

Wide Open cOMpany 

www.wideopenco.com 

Kirk Davis has been in the power sports business 

for decades and is 

a motorcycle, ATV 

and snowmobile 

enthusiast. But he’s 

never seen as much 

excitement around a 

power sports product 

as he’s seeing with 

utility terrain vehicles 

(UTVs), he said. 

About 10 years 

ago, Davis decided 

to get out of the boat 

business and jump 

into the UTV market. 

After launching Wide 

Open Company 

in Grand Rapids, 

Minnesota in 1998, 

he and a handful of 

employees began designing and building hoods for 

crawler vehicles. In 2001 his company began designing 

Based in Grand Rapids, Minn., 

Kirk Davis’ Wide Open Company is 

recognized within the power sports 

industry as a high quality manufacturer 

of utility terrain vehicle accessories. 

A proprietary process developed by Magnetation, 

Incorporated extracts iron units from natural iron ore 

tailings and then turns the tailings basins into wetlands. 

may not have.” 

Magnetation’s first plant was built in 2009 with the 

capacity of producing 125,000 tons of product per year. 

Soon after, the company expanded, increasing capacity to 

250,000 tons per year. 

“We hope to put up another four or five plants in the 

next 10 years,” Lehtinen said. 

Iron Range Resources provided much of the original 

financing to build Magnetation’s facility. The agency also 

provided low-interest loans to allow the company to 

grow shortly after opening. 

cab enclosures for the Polaris Ranger vehicle. That, he 

said, is when business really started to take off. 

“We’re out of warehousing space as I speak,” Davis 

said. “We hired 12 employees last year and we’ll hire 

potentially another 12 this year.” 

UTVs have become popular among consumers, 

particularly baby boomers, due to the fact that they can 

be used year-round, carry multiple passengers and haul 

heavy loads. They’ve also become useful for the mining 

and construction industries as well as the military. 

Today, Wide Open Company employs 35 people and 

manufactures 2,500 UTV enclosures per year in addition 

to thousands of heaters and accessories. 

Davis decided to start Wide Open Company in 

northeastern Minnesota for a number of reasons: “First, 

there’s a strong industrial infrastructure here to support 

us,” he said. “Second, there are a number of talented 

crafts people in this area who have the ability to develop 

some of the prototypes and tools we need. Beyond that, 

it’s just a great place to live and raise a family.” 

Iron Range Resources provided loans to Wide Open 

Company for equipment and expansion.



Premier Plastics 

www.premierplasticsmn.com 

Attracted to the area’s dedicated workforce, Bob 

Menne relocated his business from Wyoming, Minn., 

to Hoyt Lakes, Minn., in 2003. He moved into a new 

35,000-square-foot facility, hired nearly 20 employees the 

first year, and hasn’t looked back since. 

“The workforce up here is quite a bit different,” 

Menne said. “There are good, hardworking, available 

employees here. We have far less turnover now.” 

After relocating to northeastern Minnesota, Premier 

Plastics more than doubled its sales and growth and 

expanded its capabilities to include both rotational 

molding and thermoforming. The company makes 

a variety of parts for the recreational and marine 

industries, including seating, dash panels, cup holders, 

cargo boxes and other parts. 

Bob Menne has found northeastern Minnesota to be 

a perfect place for Premier Plastics to manufacture 

recreational and marine products. 

“It’s been a good move for our business,” Menne said. 

Iron Range Resources helped Premier Plastics secure 

low-interest financing for its building and equipment. 

Cast cOrporation 

www.castcorporation.com 

Tim Bungarden opened Cast Corporation in 1995 

in the small town of Buhl, Minn. Five years later, he 

approached Iron Range Resources for the financing 

needed to purchase EDM machines, CNC machines and 

other equipment. Another 5 years later, he called on the 

agency again to help finance a larger building. 

“We needed to expand and begin offering production 

machining,” he said. “We needed a bigger facility—and 

loading docks.” 

Doug Felten, a Cast 

Corporation machinist, 

displays one of the many 

automobile industry 

products manufactured 

at the company’s Hibbing, 

Minn., facility. 

In 2005, the company relocated to a 13,000-squarefoot 

building in Hibbing, which was twice the size of its 

old facility. 

Since then, Bungarden has been working hard to 

diversify the company. Cast Corporation has gone from 

supplying mainly patterns to the automotive industry 

to providing patterns, mold making, woodworking, 

castings and machining for a variety of industries. 

The company recently launched its own line of curb 

ramps made to help disabled people detect the 

boundary between the sidewalk and the street. 

It is selling them to states and cities as well as 

contractors across the United States. 

“We’ve survived this recession quite well,” 

Bungarden said. “We’ve been able to retain all 17 

of our employees, and we hope to add another 

two or three more employees this year.” 

He went on to say that he expects to see 

continued growth and expansions in the future. 

Iron Range Resources provided two separate 

loans to support the start-up and relocation of 

Cast Corporation.




 

Top Reasons to Locate or Expand in Northeastern Minnesota 

1. LowER cOSTS 

The costs for land and commercial real estate are significantly lower in northeastern Minnesota. 

• Average cost of office buildings is 78 percent less than national average 

• Average cost per acre for commercial/industrial real estate is 98 percent less than national average 

2. GREATER accESS TO capITAL 

Northeastern Minnesota is the only region in Minnesota with its own state development agency. As a result, 

businesses in the area have access to abundant resources for grants, loans and venture capital. 

• Low interest loans as low as one to 3 percent 

• Loan guaranties 

• Equity investment 

3. EducATEd and pROducTIve wORkfORce 

Northeastern Minnesota is known for its skilled, educated, highly motivated and dedicated workforce. 

• Five out of seven counties in northeastern Minnesota were ranked among 

the top 25 most productive counties in Minnesota according to a 

study conducted by the University of Minnesota Duluth. 

• According to the Minnesota State Planning Agency, northeastern HOW can we help you? 

Minnesota’s turnover ratio is significantly lower than any other 

region in Minnesota or the nation. 

• Despite a perception of heavy unionization, northeastern 

Minnesota’s workforce is just 17 percent organized—the same 

average as the rest of the state. 

• Skilled workers are more readily available in northeastern 

Minnesota as compared to the rest of the state according to a study 

by the University of Minnesota Duluth. 

• Seventy four percent of employers in northeastern Minnesota are 

satisfied with their workers’ technical skills, compared to 58 percent 

in the metro area and 66 percent statewide. 

• Student ACT scores in northeastern Minnesota are among the 

highest in the country. 

If your company needs assistance in growing its 

business, help is readily available. From financing 

to facilities and beyond, the welcome mat is out for 

businesses of all types and sizes that would like to 

call northeastern Minnesota home. 

Contact our 

Business Development Team 

1.877.829.3936 

www.IronRangeResources.com 

4. ExcELLEnt quALITy of LIfe 

People tend to live and work in northeastern Minnesota because that’s where they want to be. The region’s small 

cities, towns and rural areas provide “big-city” amenities with low crime rates and virtually no traffic jams. 

Communities provide education, health care, and housing that are second to none. With a beautiful natural 

environment featuring clean air, lush forests and sky-blue lakes, the area offers world-class, year-round outdoor 

recreation. A wide variety of cultural attractions includes visual and performing arts, and historic sites which 

preserve and showcase the rich heritage of the region. 

Northeastern Minnesota has long been known as a vacation destination. Local residents believe it is better to live and 

work where you like to play. 

www.ironrangeresources.com


Laser 1 Technology 

GETTING a Cut FROM 

MINNESOTA SALES TAX REFuNDS 

It isn’t every day companies receive a 

$16,000 check in the mail. But that’s exactly 

what happened to Laser 1 Technology, a 

laser machining shop in St. Paul, Minn., 

after learning it had overpaid sales taxes on 

various items by that much. 

Like most shops, Laser 1 Technology 

spent the better part of 2008 and 2009 

focusing on sales and day-to-day 

operations, not areas of potential savings. 

One day the company received a call from 

Dan Neumann, owner of Minnesota Sales 

Tax Refunds, saying he might be able to 

save the company some money. 

After pouring over 3 years of company 

receipts and accounts payable invoices, 

Neumann found approximately $16,000 

in sales tax overpayments that qualified 

for a rebate. And it wasn’t just on capital 

equipment. Much of the rebate was due to 

taxes paid on nitrogen, oxygen and laser 

gases used in production. 

“I was surprised he found that 

much money,” said Tim Walsh, Laser 

1 Technology’s president. “And I was 

surprised how little time he took up. 

He didn’t interfere; he was very easy to 

work with.” 

Most companies operate under the 

assumption that their controllers or 

CPAs are aware of any and all forms of 

refunds, Neumann said, but because most 

manufacturers never collect sales tax, 

overpayments on purchases in this area are 

often overlooked. Furthermore, many state 

auditors don’t often mention the refund 

because it slows down the auditing process 

and creates more work for them. 

About 10,000 companies in Minnesota 

are eligible for sales tax refunds, he said, 

but only 2,500 or so actually file claims 

each year. Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds 

worked with about 20 companies in 2009 

and all of them collected money. The 

average rebate for manufacturers was 

around $9,000. 

Another manufacturer Neumann 

worked with last year was Baklund R&D, 

a machine shop in Hutchinson, Minn. 

Although it had been applying for sales 

tax rebates on larger items, it managed to 

overlook the sales tax it had been paying 

on tooling and smaller machines. The 

rebate added up to $18,000. 

“I was surprised by how simple and 

painless the process was,” said Jon Baklund, 

owner of Baklund R&D. “I just handed 

over our receipts and accounts payable 

invoices and Dan took care of the rest.” 

About Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds 

Neumann started Minnesota Sales Tax 

Refunds in 2009 after working for nearly 

4 years as a state auditor. He said there are 

many expenses that qualify for sales tax 

refunds, including: 

▶▶Production equipment 

▶▶Repair or replacement parts 

▶▶R&D equipment 

▶▶Quality control equipment 

▶▶Chemicals or gases used in 

production 

▶▶Materials included in the product 

▶▶Utilities used in production 

▶▶Packaging materials 

Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds prepares 

two types of refunds for companies: 

1. Capital equipment refunds (taxes 

that are refundable) 

Manufacturers are forced to pay 

sales tax on production equipment, 

but are entitled to a rebate. Many 

companies know that production 

machines qualify, but they might not 

know that repair parts and leased 

equipment also qualify. 

2. Purchaser refunds (taxes that 

shouldn’t be paid in the first place) 

A few big areas include electricity, 

gas and fuel used in the production 

process. Many companies don’t 

realize they don’t need to pay 

taxes on 75 to 90 percent of their 

electricity or other utilities. 

Dan Neumann, a former auditor who now owns 

Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds, helped Tim Walsh, 

president of Laser 1 Technology, identify more 

than $20,000 in sales tax refunds since 2009. 

A Laser-Like Focus on Future Rebates 

Recognizing that companies don’t 

want to take on new projects, Neumann 

has tried to make the process of obtaining 

a sales tax refund as simple as possible. 

After reviewing their invoices from 

the last 3 years, he prepares all the 

documentation necessary and mails 

the information to the Department of 

Revenue, listing himself as the contact. 

Once a company receives a check inhand, 

it pays a percentage to Minnesota 

Sales Tax Refunds. 

After filing for its $16,000 rebate last 

year, Laser 1 Technology didn’t think 

Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds would find 

much this year. But it was wrong. 

“We thought we were being 

prudent and paying attention to areas 

of overpayment,” Walsh said, “but he 

was still able to find about $8,000. He’s 

welcome back anytime.” PM 

For more information about 

Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds, 

contact Dan Neumann at 

daniel@mnsalestaxrefunds.com 

or 612.462.9662 or visit 

www.mnsalestaxrefunds.com 



Competing on Value 

BREAkING THROUGH SALES BARRIERS 

by Terry Slattery 

Increasing marketplace efficiency and the proliferation of technology have hastened 

the demise of product innovation as a competitive advantage. The duplication of 

new products and enhancements never has been easier, and the commoditization of 

products never has been as far-reaching. 

With a fast-growing number of 

companies selling what have become 

commodity products, the vast majority 

of CEOs and sales executives I work 

with tell me their three critical sales and 

marketing challenges are: 

1. Relentless pressure to match 

competitors’ low bids. 

2. Demos/Proposals that reach a dead 

end. 

3. Unacceptably long and costly sales 

process. 

These issues apply as much to 

manufacturers’ salespeople as they do to 

direct sales organizations. In fact, in order 

to gain sales time, manufacturers need to 

help their staff overcome these hurdles. 

Competing on Price or Value 

If you are serious about overcoming 

these barriers to sales success, your 

salespeople must compete on value. 

Those who compete on price risk longterm 

survival, settling for slim margins 

and forfeiting profitable, predictable 

revenue growth. They constantly must 

drive down the cost of their transactions 

through operational efficiency. In 

contrast, value-driven sales organizations 

that have clear differentiating value are 

positioned to enhance margins, reduce 

sales costs, and take market share from 

their competitors. 

How do you determine whether 

you’re competing on price or value? 

Indicators that you are competing on 

price are: 

▶▶Your sales force is being pressured to 

match low bids by competitors whose 

products and services are inferior but 

being touted as comparable by the 

prospect. 

▶▶Sales force does demos and proposals 

that come to a dead end. 

▶▶Sales costs are unacceptably high, 

and the sales process is too long. 

▶▶Closing rate for proposals or demos 

is less than 90 percent. 

To compete on value that helps sales 

people avoid or win price wars, and protect 

and enhance margins, you must create or 

re-create real value linked to dollars. 

In a nutshell 

This is not about value propositions 

for products that discuss benefits 

of using the product, or unproven 

intangible statements designed to lure 

prospects. It’s about translating your 


Feature | COMPETING ON VALue 

value into cash, in the form of reduced 

costs or increased sales for the prospect. 

This principle is always the same, no 

matter how simple or complex the 

product or service—whether it is oil, 

insurance, software, medical devices, 

aerospace or agriculture etc. 

If you take only one nugget away from 

this article, leverage your differentiating 

value by answering two questions: 

1. What is the cost of not doing 

business with my company; and 

2. Who is impacted by this cost? 

This is the right buyer who will pay 

your price. 

Company executives must be 

responsible for providing value 

ammunition to salespeople that 

empowers them to meet and exceed 

revenue and margin expectations. 

Success: Selling Differentiating Value 

to the Right Buyer Wins Margins 

A U.S. manufacturer of computer 

components, with clearly defined value, 

was being challenged by a prospect (a 

sophisticated supply-chain manager) 

who tried to persuade my client to give 

up their 60 percent price premium over 

Asian competition. While the prospect 

kept insisting the products were equal, 

the lower priced product could not 

provide the same high performance over 

the 100,000 cycles the prospect required. 

The salesperson asked, “When you 

put both products through your cycle 

test, what did you notice?” The seller 

anticipated the answer that the buyer 

confirmed: The inferior product began to 

degrade toward the end of the test. Why 

did that end the challenge? The cost of 

recalls associated with product failures far 

exceeded any temporary price advantage. 

Our client won the business at their price 

as well as the next three products that 

contained the same components. 

Barriers to Success: The right 

Differentiating Value to the Wrong 

Buyer 

In some cases, the differentiating 

value development exercise reveals that 

the sales team is beating their head 

against a rock-solid wall, trying to 

get a prospect organization to change 

suppliers. When the cost of not doing 

business with their company is defined, 

Develop your Differentiating Value Now 

Start winning customers back and stop losing prospects. Engage your 

entire sales team to help you start developing your special model. 

Begin with four columns: 

1. In the left column, list four to five things you do and the way you 

do them that are unique to your firm or that your firm does better 

than the competition. 

2. In the column next to it, translate each entry into a quantifiable 

consequence of not having what you offer. 

3. In the next column, list the questions you can ask to probe for 

those consequences. 

4. In the far right column, list possible titles of the right buyer for 

each entry. 

they quickly understand that they are 

meeting with the wrong person in 

the prospect’s organization. They are 

actually meeting with the “logical” 

buyer—the person who appears to make 

the purchasing decision, but who is not 

impacted by the decision. 

Here’s an example. One of our clients, 

a global producer of clutch and power 

train assemblies for transportation and 

construction equipment, sells products 

that replace OEM parts. Because their 

products outlast the competition, they 

drive tremendous cost savings—savings 

that net these businesses way more than 

the 35 percent price premium. 

So why was the sales force having 

trouble converting prospects to their 

products? They were calling on logical 

buyers. Instead, salespeople needed to 

talk with the person in the organization 

who was responsible for financial 

performance. Once they understood that 

their technical sale was really a financial 

sale, they began meeting with CFOs— 

“emotional” buyers. 

The CFO became our ally. Our 

differentiating value included less 

down time, less overtime and fewer 

replacement installations in the course 

of a year. To the right buyer, these 

translated into a relationship well worth 

the 35 percent price premium. 

Win More Pieces of the Pie 

If your product is one piece of 

finished products produced by your 

customers, don’t assume they are aware 

that you could provide additional pieces. 

If your customer is happy with the value 

you provide, they are a prospect for 

additional products and/or services you 

may offer. If your salespeople don’t dialog 

with these prospects, they’re overlooking 

possibly the lowest hanging fruits. 

Be alert to the potential need for 

each additional product to carry its 

own value, depending on its role. Make 

sure your salespeople are selling to the 

right customer by answering the two 

questions posed earlier: (1) what are the 

costs of not purchasing the additional 

components from us, and (2) who is 

currently paying those costs? 

In this brave new world, where 

innovative products quickly lose their 

exclusivity, product commoditization 

is virtually the norm. Competing on 

value—the fiscal detriment of not doing 

business with you—is the most effective 

way to win business and defend margins. 

Terry Slattery is the CEO of Slattery 

Sales Group in Edina, Minn. He can be 

reached at tslattery@slatterysales.com or 

952.832.5436. For more information on 

differentiating value, please visit 

www.slatterysales.com. 



LOFTech 

FINDING a SOLID PARTNER IN 

METAL SuPERMARKETS 

Few companies grew during 

the 2009 recession, but LOFTech, a 

prototype manufacturing company in 

Vadnais Heights, Minn., managed to 

grow by 50 percent. 

LOFTech recently expanded its 

capabilities to include the design and 

assembly of automated equipment. 

In addition to custom machining, 

the company now provides turnkey 

fabrication and automation for 

engineering firms, tool design groups 

and other companies. 

Founded in 2003, LOFTech started 

out with four owners and 2,100 square 

feet of rented space. Today it has 30 

employees and owns a 15,000-squarefoot 

building. What’s more, the company 

has no sales staff. 

Dan Feser, president, attributes 

LOFTech’s growth to a simple business 

philosophy. 

“We’re known for doing what we say 

and saying what we do,” he said. “We 

started this business to give customers 

what they ask for—or to tell them 

upfront whether we can fit it into our 

schedules or whether it’s outside the 

realm of our expertise. More respect is 

gained from saying no, than from saying 

yes and not delivering.” 

With that approach, LOFTech has 

experienced significant growth and 

success. However, the company has 

learned some lessons along the way, 

including the importance of eliminating 

extra inventory and processes. 

In the beginning, LOFTech purchased 

large amounts of materials based on 

volume discounts and then stored the 

materials on its shelves. But that system 

ended up hurting, not helping, the 

company’s bottom line. To stay lean and 

Doug Knepper, vice president of Metal 

Supermarkets, shows an example of the 

materials LOFTech orders on a daily basis. 

Everything is cut to size and shipped to order. 

focus on what it does best, LOFTech 

decided to eliminate virtually all of its 

inventory and buy only what it needed. 

Now LOFTech purchases materials 

on a daily basis and receives everything 

cut to size and shipped to order. The 

majority of its materials come from 

Metal Supermarkets Corporation in 

Roseville, Minn. 

“We’ve found that other metal 

suppliers don’t carry the inventory that 

Metal Supermarkets does,” Feser said. 

“And most of them don’t have the ability 

to quote quickly and deliver on time.” 

In many cases, the quote is 

completed and the materials are 

delivered the same day, he said. That 

allows LOFTech to focus on its core 

capabilities, which are designing and 

machining, not chopping metal. 

“We’re not in the business of trying 

to find materials, bring them in and cut 

them ourselves,” Feser said. “That’s why 

we rely on Metal Supermarkets.” 

About Metal Supermarkets 

Metal Supermarkets is the largest 

supplier of small quantity metals 

worldwide. With more than 80 stores 

More respect is gained from saying no, 

than from saying yes and not delivering. 

- Dan Feser, president, LOFTech 

in five countries, it has established what 

it calls the “convenience stores” of the 

metal industry. 

In Minnesota, Metal Supermarkets has 

three locations: Roseville, Burnsville and 

Brooklyn Park, which just re-located from 

Maple Grove to a newer, much bigger 

building to accommodate existing and 

future growth. The new facility is just East 

of Highway169 on 93rd in Brooklyn Park, 

allowing for easier access. With a fleet of 

delivery vehicles, all three locations deliver 

to companies located in Minnesota. 

The Roseville location opened in 

2001, and 6 years later, the Burnsville 

facility opened its doors. Brooklyn Park 

is its newest location, having opened 

in 2010. Each of the locations transfer 

and share inventory to ensure a wide 

selection of materials is available. 

Doug Knepper, vice president of 

Metal Supermarkets, said one of the 

things that sets his company apart is 

rapid delivery times. 

“We try to locate ourselves so we 

can get to people quickly,” he said. “In 

that way, we’re more nimble and can 

react faster than big companies that sell 

materials by the truckload. That’s key for 

today’s businesses.” 

Most orders, he said, are for sameday 

or next-day delivery. 

Metal Supermarkets carries more 

than 8,000 products, shapes and grades 

of materials, including aluminum, steel, 

stainless, brass and copper. In addition, 

the company has access to many 

specialty items through its extensive 

network of vendors in the United States. 

“We sell a little bit of everything,” 

Knepper said. “If you need three bars 

of aluminum, one bar of copper and 16 

inches of stainless, we can bundle it all 

together and deliver it right away.” 

Customers of Metal Supermarkets 

range from one-person job shops to 

Fortune 500 companies that need metal 

for maintenance or R&D work. Unlike 


PAID SUPPLEMENT

“What we’re seeing is more and more companies going to just-intime 

orders and buying only what they need. 

- Doug Knepper, vice president of Metal Supermarkets Corporation 

other distributors, Metal Supermarkets 

does not require customers to place a 

minimum order. 

“A lot of companies make the 

mistake of buying more than they need 

based on the price per pound,” Knepper 

said. “Sooner or later they realize 

they’re tying up thousands of dollars in 

inventory that they may or may not ever 

use. What we’re seeing is more and more 

companies going to just-in-time orders 

and buying only what they need. They 

might pay a little more per pound, but 

they save money in the long run by not 

having inventory sit on their shelves.” 

The Sky is the Limit 

Metal Supermarkets has metal on 

the moon. In 2009, NASA launched the 

LCROSS Mission rocket that included 

metal from Metal Supermarkets. The 

parts, which were manufactured by 

LOFTech and designed by Dr. Dave 

Landis of Aurora Design, were key to the 

success of NASA’s mission. 

In October of 2009, about 4 

months after its launch, the NASA 

LCROSS payload jettisoned an SUVsized 

projectile at the moon at 5,600 

miles per hour, creating a 40-mile 

debris cloud. Then the payload, which 

included the telescopes, solar viewers, 

and spectrometers, designed by Dr. 

Landis and manufactured by LOFTech 

from material supplied by Metal 

Supermarkets, flew through the cloud 

to analyze the debris. The mission was 

a success. NASA collected the data 

it needed and Metal Supermarkets, 

LOFTech and Aurora Design helped to 

write a little piece of history. 

Feser said LOFTech will continue 

to focus on what it does best and 

strengthen its niche in high-precision 

manufacturing. As long as the company 

stays focused, he expects continued 

growth and success. 

“Metal Supermarkets can help 

us produce something more quickly 

than others,” Feser said. “Knowing the 

resources we have and knowing our 

time and capabilities means we don’t get 

ourselves into a jam.” 

To that extent, Metal Supermarkets 

has proven to be a super market for 

metals. PM 

For more information about Metal Supermarkets Corporation, visit 

www.metalsupermarkets.com or contact Doug Knepper at 

dknepper@metalsupermarkets.com 

With more than 80 locations in five countries, including three in Minnesota, Metal Supermarkets 

has established itself as the “convenience stores” of the metal industry 



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You will find the right experience and the right 

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MEMBER | DIRECTORY 

Lifetime Members 

Dr. James Bensen 

Bemidji State University 

218.755.2950 

mbensen@bemidjistate.edu 

JoAnn Hiebel 

Hiebel & Associates 

joann.hiebel@cox.net 

Dave Yeager 

320.564.3937 

ddyeager@earthlink.net 

Dr. Fred Zimmerman 

952.935.0678 

zimco@visi.com 

A B A Water Systems, Inc. 

Neil Weaver 

800.257.1271 

neil@abawater.com 

A. Finkl & Sons Co. 

Bob Myers 

612.724.8967 

bobm@finkl.com 

A-1 Engineering 

Todd Craft 

763.786.8710 

todd.craft@a1eng.com 

Abrasive Specialists, Inc. 

Jaime Olsen 

763.571.4111 

jaime.olsen@asimn.com 

Accu-Prompt, Inc. 

Scott Hoffmann 

763.783.1020 

shoffmann@accuprompt.com 

Acme Metal Spinning 

Bruce Johnston 

763.788.9051 

info@acmemetalspinning.com 

aCoupleofGurus.com LLC 

Keith Schoolcraft 

612.454.4878 

keith@acoupleofgurus.com 

Aerospace Manufacturing, Inc. 

Tom Heid 

651.379.9888 

theid@awi-ami.com 

Agility Machine Tool, Inc. 

Brian Holcomb 

763.792.8502 

brian@agilitymachine.com 

Agrimson Tool Company 

Gary Agrimson 

763.566.3446 

mailroom@agrimsontool.com 

Air Engineering & Supply, Inc. 

Brad Wiese 

612.332.4181 

bwiese@airengr.com 

Air Power Equipment 

Dan Shreve 

612.522.7000 

dshreve@airpowerequip.com 

Aitkin Iron Works, Inc. 

Jeffrey Chatelle 

218.927.2400 

jwc@aiw.com 

Alexandria Technical College 

Chad Coauette 

888.234.1313 

chadc@alextech.edu 

Alignex, Inc. 

Mike Bailey 

952.888.6801 

mike.bailey@alignex.com 

All Tech Machinery & Supply 

Jeff Johnson 

763.370.4670 

jeffj@atms.us.com 

Alliance Metrology, Inc. 

Bryn Hartwig 

763.493.0026 

brynhart@earthlink.net 

American Iron a Div. of 

Northern Metal Recycling 

Larry Stearns 

612.529.9221 

lstearns@scrappy.com 

American Machine & 

Gundrilling Co., Inc. 

Chuck Berg 

763.425.3830 

chucksr@amgundrilling.com 

AmeriStar Manufacturing Inc 

Joe Bohrer 

507.625.1515 

joeb@ameristarmfg.com 

Anderson & Dahlen, Inc. 

Steve Head 

763.852.4700 

heas@andersondahlen.com 

Andrew Tool & 

Machining Company 

Bruce Hanson 

763.559.0402 

brucehanson@andrewtool.com 

Anoka Technical College-Corp. Ctr. 

Nick Graff 

763.576.4700 

ngraff@anokatech.edu 

Applied Products, Inc. 

Randy Paulson 

952.933.2224 

rpaulson@appliedproducts.com 

Applied Vacuum Technology, Inc. 

Dan Korolchuk 

952.442.7005 

dkorolchuk@appliedvacuum.com 

Arrow Cryogenics, Inc. 

Curt Salo 

763.780.3367 

curt@arrowcryogenics.com 

Atlas Specialized Transport, Inc. 

Jeannie Schubert 

952.985.5400 

jschubert@atlas-usa.com 

Automated 

Randy Squier 

763.576.6946 

rsquier@automatedextrusion.com 

Avicenna Technology Inc. 

Chad Carson 

320.269.5588 

ccarson@avicennatech.com 

B & E Tool Company, Inc. 

Joe Blowers 

763.571.1802 

btoolcoinc@comcast.net 

Baillie Sales & Engineering, Inc. 

Erin Anderson 

952.546.2960 

erin@bailliesales.com 

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP 

Mark Kiecker 

612.876.4776 

mark.kiecker@bakertilly.com 

Barry & Sewall Industrial Supply 

Steve Olson 

612.331.6170 

steveo@barrysewall.com 

Beaver Machine 

Jay Groth 

763.535.2204 

beavshack@beavermachine.com 

Benny Machine Company 

Jeffrey Benny 

763.444.5508 

bennymachine@aol.com 

Bizal Manufacturing Co. 

Mike Bizal 

763.571.4030 

bizalmfg@bizalmfg.com 

Black Line Group 

Scott Schmidt 

763.550.0111 

scott@blacklinegrp.com 

Blanski Peter Kronlage & Zoch, P.A. 

Gary Turnquist, CPA 

763.546.6211 

gturnquist@bpkz.com 

BNC National Bank 

Tim Swanson 

612.305.2217 

tswanson@bncbank.com 

Bodycote Thermal Processing 

Bob Manhatton 

952.944.5500 

robert.manhatton@bodycote.com 

Boring Machine Corporation 

Tom Chacon 

763.786.0100 

tchacon@bormac.com 

Branch Manufacturing 

Company, Inc. 

Delmer Fairbanks 

651.674.4441 

delmerf@branchmfg.com 

Brenk Brothers, Inc. 

Jeff Brenk 

763.784.5621 

jeff@brenkbrothers.com 

Briggs and Morgan, P.A. 

Joe Roach 

612.977.8400 

jroach@briggs.com 

Bucci Industries USA Inc. / IEMCA 

Mark Rigato 

248.667.9097 

mrigato@bucci-industries.us 

CAB Construction 

Doug Mulder 

507.625.2233 

doug@cabconstruction.com 

CAM-TOOL 

Chris Renaud 

519.737.6009 

chris@camtool.com 

Carley Foundry, Inc. 

Kevin Stensrud 

763.205.8933 

kevin.stensrud@carleyfoundry.com 

Carlson Advisors, LLC 

Melvin Enger 

763.535.8150 

menger@carlson-advisors.com 

Cass Screw Machine 

Products Company 

Steve Wise 

763.535.0501 

steve@csmp.com 

C-Axis Inc. 

Jeff Haley 

763.478.8982 

jeff@c-axis.com 

Center National Bank 

Jeff Wosje 

763.225.8882 

jwosje@centernationalbank.com 

Challenge Machine & 

Manufacturing Inc. 

Carrie Betland 

763.231.8400 

carrieb@challengemachine.com 

Checker Machine, Inc. 

Steve Lipinski 

763.544.5000 

slipinski@checkermachine.com 

Cheetah Precision, Inc. 

Manfred Niedernhoefer 

651.633.4566 

cheetah@cheetahprecision.com 

Chuck’s Grinding, Inc. 

Mike Reuter 

952.361.4308 

mike@chucksgrinding.com 

Cincinnati Tool Steel Co. 

Steve Murtell 

612.840.9351 

smurtell@cintool.com 



Cities Advanced Machinery 

Harry Youtsos 

952.944.6060 

harry@cam-cnc.com 

Clinton Aluminum & 

Stainless Steel 

Scott Mattson 

800.826.3370 

smattson@clintalum.com 

Columbia Gear Corp. 

Mike Hipsher 

320.356.7301 

mhipsher@columbiagear.com 

Columbia Precision Machine Corp. 

Gilbert Baldwin 

952.890.1003 

gbaldwin@columbiapmc.com 

Comet Tool, Inc. 

Jim Freitag 

952.935.3798 

jim.freitag@comettoolinc.com 

Command Tooling Systems LLC 

Nick Martin 

763.576.6910 

nmartin@commandtool.com 

Concept Machine Tool Sales, Inc. 

Craig Conlon 

763.559.1975 

sales@conceptmachine.com 

Construction Results Corporation 

Mark Snyder 

763.559.1100 

mark.snyder@constructionresults.com 

Continental Engr. & Mfg., Inc. 

Eric Andersen 

952.448.4771 

eric@cem-web.com 

Crane Engineering 

Dave Hallman 

763.557.9090 

daveh@CraneEngineering.com 

CRTechnical 

Tom Wolden 

763.560.6015 

tomwolden@crtechnical.com 

Crysteel Mfg / TBEI 

Sandy Hanson 

507.726.2728 

shanson@tbei.com 

Custom Cutter Grinding Corp. 

Kermit Bode 

763.441.7744 

info@customcuttergrinding.com 

Custom Headed Products, Inc. 

Tom Luther 

651.277.0740 

chpinc@nsatel.net 

Datum-A-Industries, Inc. 

Brian Johnson 

763.479.1133 

info@datum-manifolds.com 

David Olson Sales Co., Inc. 

Scott Olson 

612.722.9523 

slo@davidolsonsales.com 

Deco Tool Supply Co. 

Kevin Corrigan 

763.537.7762 

kcorrigan@decotool.com 

Diamond Lake Tool, Inc. 

Larry Foss 

763.441.3411 

DLT@diamondlaketool.com 

Diamond Tool & Engineering, Inc. 

Kent Smith 

218.924.4024 

ksmith@eot.com 

Die Technology, Inc. 

Dale Skoog 

763.424.9677 

dskoog@dietechnology.com 

Domaille Engineering LLC 

Don Hickerson 

507.281.0275 

dhickerson@domailleengineering.com 

Dotson Iron Castings 

Jean Bye 

507.345.5018 

jbye@dotson.com 

Douglas Alexandria Finishing 

Jeff Powers 

320.762.6235 

jpowers@douglas-machine.com 

Douglas Metals, Inc. 

Jon Borgen 

763.536.1094 

jborgen@douglas-metals.com 

Duncan Company 

Josh Ralph 

612.331.1776 

jralph@duncanco.com 

Dunwoody College of Technology 

E. J. Daigle 

612.374.5800 

edaigle@dunwoody.edu 

Duo-Tec Tool Company 

Dale Hanken 

763.425.5005 

dhanken@duotectool.com 

Dynamic Group 

Peter McGillivray 

763.780.4430 

pmcgill@thedynamicgroup.net 

Dynamic Rigging, Inc. 

Tracey Anderson 

763.780.4202 

dynamicrigging@aol.com 

Eagle Tool & Design Co. 

Ole Christensen 

763.784.7400 

ochristensen@eagletoolinc.com 

EL-HY-MEC 

Mike DeJarlais 

763.533.0606 

mdejarlais@el-hy-mec.com 

Elk River Machine Company 

Todd McChesney 

763.441.1581 

tmcchesney@ermc.com 

Ellison Technologies 

Craig St. John 

763.545.9699 

cstjohn@ellisontechnologies.com 

El-Tronic Precision, Inc. 

Greg Pickert 

763.784.1891 

greg@eltronic.com 

Emerge Community Development 

Norma Jean Litch 

612.529.9267 

litchn@emerge-staffing.org 

Engineered Finishing Corp. 

John Salin 

763.785.9278 

jsalin@engfinish.com 

Epicor Software Corporation 

Christine Hansen 

952.417.5178 

chansen@epicor.com 

Erickson Metals of MN, Inc. 

Luke Harned 

763.785.2340 

lharned@ericksonmetalsmn.com 

Excelsior Tool Company, Inc. 

Gary Lostetter 

763.479.3355 

etc1gl@frontiernet.net 

Fab Pipe, Inc. 

Ted Muntz 

763.428.2259 

tmuntz@fabpipe.com 

Fastenal Manufacturing 

Tim Borkowski 

507.453.8000 

tborkows@fastenal.com 

Federated Insurance 

Bill Daly 

507.455.5200 

wmdaly@fedins.com 

Fidelity Bank 

Steve Logterman 

952.830.7293 

steve@fidelitybankmn.com 

Flame Metals Processing Corp. 

Dan Gelo 

763.255.2530 

dang@flamemetals.com 

Fluid Management 

Incorporated 

Roger Novitzki 

612.378.2580 

roger@coolantrecycle.com 

Foreman & Airhart, Ltd 

Mark Foreman 

952.948.1844 

markforeman@foreman-cpa.com 

Fox Valley Metrology 

Chris Kuczynski 

715.483.5334 

chris@foxvalleymetrology.com 

Fraisa USA Inc. 

Mathieu Tapp 

651.636.8488 

mtapp@fraisausa.com 

Froehling Anderson 

Rick Wiethorn 

952.979.3100 

rwiethorn@fa-cpa.com 

Glenn Metalcraft, Inc. 

Joseph Glenn 

763.389.5355 

jglenn@gmc-mn.com 

Graco Inc. 

Tanya Tvrdik 

612.623.6431 

ttvrdik@graco.com 

Granger Machine, Inc. 

Mike Parker 

763.444.3725 

mike@grangermachine.com 

Haberman Machine, Inc. 

Scott Ness 

651.777.4511 

scottn@habermanmachine.com 

Hales Machine Tool, Inc. 

Dan Hales 

763.553.1711 

dhales@halesmachinetool.com 

Hamre Designs LLC 

Paul Hamre 

651.261.4673 

paul@hamredesigns.com 

Hard Anodize, Inc. 

Brian Aslesen 

952.831.1623 

baslesen@hardanodize.com 

Hard Chrome, Inc. 

Dick Walters 

612.788.9451 

hardchromeinc@questoffice.net 

Hegman Machine Tool, Inc. 

Ralph Hegman 

763.424.5622 

rhegman@hegmanmachine.com 

Hennepin Technical College 

Joy Bodin 

763.488.2415 

joy.bodin@hennepintech.edu 

Hibbing Fabricators, Inc. 

Wayne Larson 

218.262.5575 

waynel@hibfab.com 

Huot Manufacturing Company 

John Huot 

651.646.1869 

j.huot@huot.com 

Hutchinson Manufacturing, Inc. 

Tom Daggett 

320.587.4653 

tdaggett@hutchmfg.com 

I.S.C. Machine LLC 

Jerry Cornish 

763.559.0033 

j.cornish@industrialsupplyco.com 

IBM Integrated 

Engineering Solutions 

Tom Sycks 

507.253.0869 

gtsycks@us.ibm.com 

ICA Corporation 

Steve Hoaglund 

763.428.2800 

steveh@icacorp.com 



Ideal Aerosmith Inc. 

Jodi Stittsworth 

701.757.3414 

jstits@idealaero.com 

Industrial Fabrication 

Services, Inc. (IFS) 

Matt Doherty 

507.726.6000 

mattifs@hickorytech.net 

Industrial Tool, Inc. 

Rick Ahlstrom 

763.533.7244 

rahlstrom@industrial-tool.com 

Industrial Waste Services 

Mike Antolik 

952.474.2628 

mike@industrialwasteservices.biz 

International 

Management Systems 

Delrae Eden 

763.557.5711 

delrae@edensolutions group.com 

International Precision 

Machining, Inc. 

Daniel Meyer 

320.656.1241 

dmeyer@ipminc.com 

J. & J. Machine, Inc. 

John Lenz 

763.421.0114 

jjmachines@qwest.net 

J. B. Testing, Inc. 

Jeff Boisvert 

763.795.9690 

jbtesting@jbtesting.com 

Jet Edge, Inc. 

Nancy Lauseng 

763.497.8700 

nancyl@jetedge.com 

JIT Manufacturing, Inc. 

Gene Wehner 

763.425.7995 

jitmfg@cpinternet.com 

John Henry Foster Company 

John Hawkins 

651.452.8452 

john.hawkins@jhfoster.com 

Jonaco Machine LLC 

Mike Buller 

952.448.5544 

mwbull@jonaco.com 

Jones Metal Products Inc 

Sarah Richards 

507.625.4436 

srichards@jonesmetalproducts.com 

K & G Manufacturing Co. 

Mike Kraimer 

507.334.5501 

mkraimer@kgmfg.com 

Kato Engineering Inc. 

David Knutson 

507.345.2704 

david.knutson@emerson.com 

KayHarris Real Estate Consultants 

Kay Harris, CCIM 

952.915.4444 

kay@kayharrisre.com 

Kendeco Tool Crib 

Bob Miller 

320.253.1020 

bobm@kendeco.com 

Kurt Manufacturing Company Inc. 

Chuck Remillard 

763.572.1500 

chuckr@kurt.com 

La Machine Shop, Inc. 

Joe LaBonne 

763.434.6108 

joe@lamachineshop.com 

Lake Engineering, Inc. 

Steve Magnuson 

952.473.5485 

stevem@lakeengineering.com 

Lake Superior College 

Michael Koppy 

218.733.7631 

m.koppy@lsc.edu 

Lakeland Tool & Engineering, Inc. 

Marty Sweerin 

763.422.8866 

suer@lte.biz 

LaMott Enterprises, Inc. 

Steve LaMott 

763.781.0001 

steve@lamottenterprises.com 

Larkin Hoffman Daly 

& Lindgren Ltd. 

Mark Geier 

952.835.3800 

mgeier@larkinhoffman.com 

LarsonAllen LLP 

Samantha Riley 

612.376.4821 

sriley@larsonallen.com 

Linders Specialty Co., Inc. 

Vince Linders 

651.488.0528 

vince@lscmetalfab.com 

Lind-Rite Precision, Inc. 

Rod Femrite 

320.859.2070 

lindrite@midwestinfo.com 

Lion Engineering Plastics Inc. 

Scott King 

651.289.3100 

sking@lionep.com 

Lion Precision 

Don Martin 

651.484.6544 

don@lionprecision.com 

Lou-Rich, Inc. 

Randy Eggum 

507.377.5330 

reggum@lou-rich.com 

Lubrication Technologies, Inc. 

Gary Parkos 

763.417.1307 

garypar@lube-tech.com 

M & H Machine Corporation 

Frank Jamkowski 

651.481.9577 

frank-jamkowski@qwestoffice.net 

Machine Tool Supply Corp. 

Troy Kerin 

651.452.4400 

troyk@machtool.com 

Machining Specialists 

Randy Bierwerth 

651.204.1034 

randy.bierwerth@machiningspecs.com 

Mack Engineering Corp. 

Jackie Salisbury 

612.721.2471 

jackie.s@mackengineering.com 

Manufacturing Solutions 

of MN Inc. 

Troy Vincent 

651.294.7790 

troy.vincent@msmni.com 

Martin Calibration Co. 

Rick Brion 

952.882.1528 

rbrion@martincalibration.com 

Master Tool & Die, Inc. 

Tony Trabant 

651.454.2536 

tonyt@mastertoolinc.com 

Mate Precision Tooling 

Joe Schneider 

763.421.0230 

joe.schneider@mate.com 

Med-Tek, Inc. 

Randy Duffy 

612.789.3527 

randy@med-tekinc.com 

Meier Tool & Engineering, Inc. 

Rick Meier 

763.427.6275 

rick_meier@meiertool.com 

Metal Craft Machine & 

Engineering, Inc. 

Trisha Mowry 

763.441.1855 

trisha@metal-craft.com 

Metal Supermarkets 

Doug Knepper 

763.315.4042 

dknepper@metalsupermarkets.com 

Metal Treaters, Inc. 

Gary Johnson 

651.646.1317 

garyj@metaltreaters.com 

MicroGroup Bethel, LLC 

Kim Johnson 

763.434.5900 

kjohnson@microgroupmn.com 

Micro-Matics LLC 

Rick Paulson 

763.780.2700 

rick@micro-matics.com 

Mid-Continent Engineering, Inc. 

Sanders Marvin 

612.781.0260 

sanders.marvin@mid-continent.com 

Midwest CAM Solutions, Inc. 

Matt Arnold 

763.560.6567 

matt@midwestcamsolutions.com 

Midwest Machine Tool Supply 

Doug Eliason 

763.571.3550 

doug@midwestmachinetool.com 

Midwest Steel Supply Company 

Brandon Walton 

612.333.6868 

bw@midweststeelsupply.com 

Millerbernd Laser 

Farid Currimbhoy 

320.485.5458 

fcurrimbhoy@millerbernd.com 

Milltronics CNC Machines 

Curt Stockinger 

952.442.1410 

cstockinger@milltronics.net 

MINNCOR Industries 

Ted Jackson 

651.361.7500 

customer-service.minncor@ 

minncor.com 

Minneapolis Community & 

Tech. College 

Kim Munson 

612.659.6093 

kim.munson@minneapolis.edu 

Minnesota Grinding, Inc. 

David Schranck 

763.535.4445 

david.schranck@ 

minnesotagrinding.com 

Minnesota State 

University Moorhead 

Pam McGee 

218.477.2466 

mcgeepa@mnstate.edu 

MN State College, 

Southeast Technical 

Ron Sellnau 

507.453.2700 

rsellnau@southeastmn.edu 

MN Technical Assistance 

Program, U of M 

Jeff Becker 

612.624.4633 

beck0254@umn.edu 

MNCEME- MN Ctr for 

Eng & Mfg Excellence 

Dr. Ronald Bennett 

507.389.1201 

ronald.bennett@mnsu.edu 

Modified Tool, Inc. 

John Kruse 

218.763.6030 

modifiedtool@emily.net 



Mold-Tech, Inc. 

Jon Lee 

763.497.7500 

jlee@mold-techinc.com 

Morgan Stanley 

Sean Lutz 

952.921.1932 

sean.lutz@morganstanley.com 

MRG Tool & Die Corp. 

Mike Gramse 

507.334.1847 

mgramse@toolanddie.net 

MultiSource Mfg LLC 

Gary Hadley 

763.784.5515 

ghadley@multisourcemfg.com 

Nanotech Machinery Solutions, Inc. 

Kevin Manion 

763.425.6266 

kevin@nanomach.us 

Nelson Numeric, Inc. 

Reed Nelson 

952.829.7337 

reed@nelsonnumeric.com 

NETTwork Mfg. Inc. 

Aaron Netter 

320.654.8352 

aaron@nettworkmfg.com 

New Ulm Precision Tool, Inc. 

Howard Blume 

507.233.2900 

hrblume@newulmtel.net 

Nordic Components, Inc. 

Jarmo Kumpula 

320.234.6015 

jarmo@nordiccomp.com 

Northland Screw Products, Inc. 

James Martinson 

763.753.3628 

james@northlandscrewproducts.com 

Northwest Machine Technologies 

Tony Bailey 

763.493.3660 

tbailey@nwmtec.com 

Northwest Swiss-Matic, Inc. 

Wade Halseth 

763.544.4222 

whalseth@nwswissmatic.com 

Northwest Technical 

College - Bemidji 

Daniel Larson 

218.333.6604 

daniel.larson@ntcmn.edu 

NPC Robotics Corp. 

Norm Domholt 

952.472.1511 

normd@npcinc.com 

NTM, Inc. 

Phil Graber 

763.780.1420 

philg@ntminc.com 

Olsen Thielen CPAs 

Joe Mayer 

651.483.4521 

jmayer@otcpas.com 

Olympic Steel, Inc. 

Stephen Reyes 

763.544.7100 

sreyes@olysteel.com 

Omnitool, Inc. 

Walter Waffensmith 

763.535.4240 

walter@omnitool.com 

LENDING 

A HAND 

SO YOU CAN 

EXPAND 

That’s what we’re here for. 

for more information, contact us at: 

(651)224-5686 or www.sppa.com 

On Time Delivery Service, Inc. 

Tim Holtan 

952.884.4060 

tholtan@bontime.com 

Packnet Ltd. 

Mike Nyberg 

952.944.9124 

mnyberg@packnetltd.com 

Pal’s Machining, Inc 

Loren Mifek 

507.451.9202 

tyler@palsmachining.com 

Panther Precision Machine, Inc. 

Tom Olson 

763.586.9651 

tolson@pantherprecision.com 

Park Precision Machining Inc. 

Bob Tummel 

763.754.8273 

bob@parkprecision.com 

Pequot Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. 

Michael Goerges 

218.568.8069 

mgoerges@pequottool.com 

Perfection Grinding, Inc. 

Darell Stern 

763.571.1052 

perfgrin@aol.com 

Performance Tool & Die 

Craig Rix 

952.469.2423 

crix@ptdmn.com 

Permac Industries 

Darlene Miller 

952.894.7231 

dmiller@permacindustries.com 

Pine Technical College 

Julie Dillenburg 

320.629.5112 

dillenburgj@pinetech.edu 

Plastics International 

Paul Carter 

952.934.2303 

paulc@plasticsintl.com 

Precise Products Corporation 

Darrell Freitag 

612.522.2141 

dfreitag@preciseproducts.com 

Precision 

Jamie Durand 

763.784.1704 

jamie@precisionmn.com 

Precision Punch & Plastics 

Kevin Ryan 

952.933.0993 

kryan@precisionpunch.com 

Precision Tool Technologies, Inc. 

Jim Goerges 

320.632.5320 

jim@precisiontooltech.com 

Principal Financial Group 

Alyssa Kreutzfeldt 

651.287.5469 

kreutzfeldt.alyssa@principal.com 

Pro Fabrication, Inc. 

Larry Scearcy 

507.243.3441 

larry.scearcy@pro-fabrication.com 

Production Engineering Corp. 

Mike Albers 

612.788.9123 

mhalbers@pecorp.net 

Production Tool & Mfg, Inc. 

Mark Boesch 

763.559.5746 

markb@protoolus.com 

Productivity Inc 

Greg Buck 

763.476.8600 

gbuck@productivity.com 

Productivity Quality Inc/ 

Advanced Inspection Services LLC 

Keith Summers 

763.249.8130 

keith.summers@pqi.net 

Professional Instruments 

Company, Inc. 

Paul Arneson 

952.933.1222 

parneson@airbearings.com 

Professional Plating Inc. 

Casey Weizel 

763.427.0112 

crweizel@proplate.com 

Progressive Engineering 

Technology 

Skip Smetana 

651.784.4240 

skips@petinc.biz 

ProtoTek Engineering, Inc. 

Brian Pascoe 

952.361.5598 

bpascoe@prototek-engineering.com 

QDP Technologies, Inc. 

Troy Holien 

763.712.1626 

troy.holien@qdptech.com 

Qualitek Engineering & 

Manufacturing Inc. 

Mike Nepsund 

763.544.9507 

miken@qualitek-eng.com 

Quality & Service 

Machine Tool Company 

Bill Lidfors 

952.935.8616 

bill@qandsmachinetool.com 

Quality Machine of IA, Inc. MN Div. 

Tim Greene 

763.560.3955 

timg@qualitymachine.com 

Quazar Capital Corporation 

Bruce Behm 

763.550.9000 

bruceb@quazarcapital.com 

Regal Machine Inc./ 

Advanced Mach. Tech. 

George Hendren 

651.408.8940 

ghendren@regalmachineinc.com 

Replenex Inc. 

Tom Folska 

952.941.9150 

tom.folska@replenex.com 

RevZero Inc. 

Craig Lofstuen 

952.380.9966 

craig.lofstuen@revzeroinc.com 

Riverland Community 

College-Austin 

Deb Vang 

507.433.0600 

dvang@river.cc.mn.us 

rms 

Lee Zachman 

763.786.1520 

lzachman@machine.com 

Roberts Automatic Products, Inc. 

Ted Roberts 

952.949.1000 

troberts@robertsautomatic.com 

Schreifels & Associates, Inc. 

Bob Schmitz 

763.569.4304 

bob@schreifels.com 

SCHUNK, Inc. 

Matt Steele 

800.772.4865 

matt.steele@us.schunk.com 

Sentry Insurance 

Rod Andersen 

952.270.6337 

rod.andersen@sentry.com 

Smith Foundry Company 

Jim Pint 

612.729.9395 

pint_jim@smithfoundry.com 

South Central College of Faribault 

Jason DeMars 

507.332.5831 

jason.demars@southcentral.edu 

South Metro Wire EDM & 

Small Hole Drilling Inc. 

Jeff Runyon 

952.403.1415 

smwedm@qwestoffice.net 

Spec Plating Corporation 

Patrick Murphy 

763.717.7016 

patrickm@specplating.com 

S-T Industries, Inc. 

Bob Friesen 

800.326.2039 

sales@stindustries.com 

St. Cloud Technical College 

Bruce Peterson 

320.308.5000 

bpeterson@sctc.edu 



St. Marys University 

Paul Christensen 

612.728.5100 

pchristensen@smumn.edu 

St. Paul College-A 

Comm. & Tech. College 

Dr. Gary Hertel 

651.846.1600 

gary.hertel@saintpaul.edu 

St. Paul Port Authority 

B. Kyle 

651.224.5686 

blk@sppa.com 

Stillwater Area Public Schools 

Doris Karls 

651.351.8342 

karlsd@stillwater.k12.mn.us 

Stone Machinery, Inc. 

Tom Drazkowski 

651.778.8887 

info@stonemachinery.com 

Sunbelt Business Advisors 

Dan Mulvaney 

612.860.0047 

dan@mulvaneysun.com 

T. Bryce & Associates Inc. 

Terry Bryce 

763.449.9900 

terryb@tbryce.com 

T.D. Wright, Inc. 

David McEachern 

651.227.1302 

sales@tdwinc.com 

Taber Bushnell 

Brad Severson 

763.546.0994 

bseverson@taberbushnell.com 

Taylor Machine, Inc. 

Rick Taylor 

763.786.5949 

rtaylor@tmicnc.com 

TEAM Industries 

Jim Russ 

218.694.3550 

jimruss@team-ind.com 

Technical Die Casting, Inc. 

Randy Walters 

507.689.2194 

randyw@tech-die-casting.com 

Technology Reps 

Mike Neeley 

651.636.6966 

mikeneeley@comcast.net 

The Lindgren Group 

Keith Meyer 

612.822.2185 

kmeyer@thelindgrengroup.com 

The QC Group 

Dan Medford 

952.895.1150 

dmedford@theqcgroup.com 

Thomas Engineering Company 

Tim Aberwald 

763.533.1501 

taberwald@thomasengineering.com 

Tooling Science, Inc. 

Brian Burley 

763.425.6001 

brian@tlscience.com 

Toolkraft, Inc. 

William Zbikowski 

763.571.7480 

tk55432@aol.com 

Top Tool Company 

Dan Kuch 

763.786.0030 

dkuch@toptool.com 

Twin City EDM, Inc. 

Steve Lindell 

763.783.7808 

slindell@twincityedm.com 

Twin City Gear Company 

Max Fenna 

763.780.9780 

tcgear@goldengate.net 

Twin City Honing, Inc. 

Larry Bopp 

952.894.1730 

boppld@yahoo.com 

Twin City Plating Company 

Roger Plath 

612.331.8895 

roger@twincityplating.com 

United Standards Lab, Inc. 

James Dolezal 

612.823.2616 

jim@unitedstandardslab.com 

Vincent, M. & Associates, Ltd. 

Dave Hanna 

952.884.7733 

alloy1@m-vincent.com 

Von Ruden Manufacturing, Inc. 

Brandon Anderson 

763.682.3122 

brandon@vonruden.com 

V-TEK, Inc. 

Stacy Anderson 

507.387.2039 

s.anderson@vtekusa.com 

W.P. & R.S. Mars Company 

Bob Mars 

952.884.9388 

rmars3@marssupply.com 

Weigh-Rite Scale Co., Inc. 

Jennifer Johnson 

715.247.3364 

info@scaleguy.com 

Western Spring Manufacturing 

Alex Altstatt 

651.224.1721 

alex@westernspring.com 

Wilson Tool International 

Brian Robinson 

651.286.6003 

brian.robinson@wilsontool.com 

Winegar, Inc. 

Tim Wenzel 

507.835.3495 

tim.wenzel@winegarinc.com 

WIPFLi LLP 

Greg Hirsch 

952.548.3362 

ghirsch@wipfli.com 

Workforce Solutions 

John O’Phelan 

651.779.5411 

john.ophelan@co.ramsey.mn.us 

WSI Industries, Inc. 

Benjamin Rashleger 

763.295.9202 

brashleger@wsci.com 

Wyoming Machine, Inc. 

Lori Tapani 

651.462.4156 

ltapani@wyomingmachine.com 

Yeager Machine, Inc. 

Mike Yeager 

952.467.2800 

mike@yeagermachine.com 

Alumni 

Dick Clifford 

dmcliffords@comcast.net 

763.533.7201 

Josef Goerges 

218.562.4432 

Mark Hockley 

hockleymark@yahoo.com 

612.418.8743 

Ken Johnson 

651.633.1994 

Virg Paulson 

vfpaulson2@gmail.com 

763.434.4152 

Marv Peterson 

marv014@yahoo.com 

612.867.5804 

aDVeRTISeRS’ | INDEX 

aCOUPLEofGURUS.com LLC | www.acoupleofgurus.com.................30 

American Machine & Gundrilling Co., Inc. | 

www.amgundrilling.com........................................................................28 

Arrow Cryogenics, Inc. | www.arrowcryogenics.com..........................27 

Carley Foundry, Inc. | www.carleyfoundry.com...................................29 

Duncan Company | www.duncanco.com..............................................27 

Dunwoody College of Technology | www.dunwoody.edu..................26 

Federated Insurance | www.federatedinsurance.com............................5 

Hegman Machine Tool, Inc. | www.hegmanmachine.com...................6 

Hennepin Technical College | www.hennepintech.edu.......................26 

Industrial Waste Services | www.industrialwasteservices.biz............31 

Iron Range Resources | www.ironrangeresources.org..........................15 

Kurt Manufacturing Industrial Products Division | 

www.kurtworkholding.com.........................................................12-13 

MasterGraphics Inc. | www.masterg.com....................inside back cover 

Metal Supermarkets |www.metalsupermarkets.com........................ 24-25 

Midwest CAM Solutions, Inc. | www.midwestcamsolutions.com.....26 

Minnesota Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence | 

www.mnceme.org.............................................................................. 14 

Minnesota Sales Tax Refunds | www.mnsalestaxrefunds.com...........21 

NTM, Inc. | www.ntminc.com.................................................................26 

Plastics International | www.plasticsintl.com.......................................34 

Productivity Inc | www.productivity.com........ inside front cover, 10, 27 

Productivity Quality | www.pqi.net......................................................... 27 

ProtoTek Engineering, Inc. | www.prototek-engineering.com...........26 

Quality & Service Machine Tool, Inc. | 

www.qandmachinetool.com..............................................................27 

Saint Paul Port Authority | www.sppa.com...........................................32 

Yeager Machine, Inc. | www.yeagermachine.com................................. 33 

CNC Milling | CNC Turning 

Manual Milling and Turning 

Surface Grinding 

Prototypes | Assembly 

From close tolerance medical components to 

after-market equipment for racecars, Yeager 

Machine has the ability and mindset to 

manufacture parts in quantities of one to tens of 

thousands. 

Michael Yeager President 

mike@yeagermachine.com 

www.yeagermachine.com 

415 Tacoma Circle | Nor wood Young America, MN 55368 

952.467.2800 office | 952.467.2880 fax 


WHAT’s HAPPENING AT MPMA? 

MPMA works hard to address the needs of our members through 

workforce development, education, legislative activity, and 

advocacy. Here is an overview of the current activity we are 

engaged in to Drive Success in Minnesota Precision Manufacturing: 

▶▶ 

▶▶ 

Jaime Nolan, MPMA executive director, and Luann 

Bartley, MPMA associate director, gave a presentation 

about the benefits of careers in manufacturing to school 

administrators, principals, and teachers at the Project Lead 

the Way conference in Pequot Lakes in March. Nolan and 

Bartley received feedback from many of the administrators 

and principals that the information presented was 

“eye-opening,” and they were encouraged by the new 

information they received regarding career opportunities in 

the manufacturing fields. 

The Board of Directors voted to approve the launch of 

the first organized chapter of the MPMA. The chapter 

will be the nine county area defined as “Region 9” by the 

Department of Employment and Economic Development 

(DEED). This encompasses the manufacturing companies 

in the counties of Blue Earth, Nicollet, Le Sueur, Waseca, 

Freeborn, Sibley, Martin, Watonwan and Brown. 

MPMA Calendar of Events 

▶▶ 

▶▶ 

MPMA served as a major sponsor and several MPMA 

members attended Business Day at the Capitol on March 10 

to help advance Minnesota’s business legislative priorities. 

MPMA joined together with the Manufacturers Coalition 

and other members of Minnesota’s manufacturing 

community to help save the Manufacturer’s Advocate 

position established by Governor Pawlenty several years 

ago. Following an announcement by DEED that the 

position was being eliminated, the group met with DEED 

to express their disappointment in the decision and the 

important role the Manufacturer’s Advocate position has 

played in connecting manufacturing businesses with the 

governor. Within a few weeks of the meeting, DEED and the 

governor approved reinstatement of the position. 

Your feedback on important activities and topics that MPMA should 

focus on is always appreciated. Please contact Executive Director 

Jaime Nolan, CAE at jaime@mpma.com or MPMA President Mike 

Gramse at mgramse@toolanddie.net. 

MAy 2010 

13 

MANAGEMENT EDUCATION WORkSHOP 

For Members Only 

“Celemi Apples & Oranges ®: Driving Financial 

Management Skills Throughout Your Organization” 

Presented by: Froehling Anderson 

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - MPMA Conference Room 

17-18 

SUPERMILEAGE 

Brainerd International Raceway 

20 

MEMBER PROGRAM 

Healthcare Reform - Panel Discussion 

5:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Double Tree Hotel Park Place 

June 2010 

17 

MANUFACTURING FACILITy TOUR 

For Members Only 

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. – Tour 1 

10:20 - 11:50 a.m. – Tour 2 

11:40 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch 

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. – Tour 3 

1:20 – 2:50 p.m. – Tour 4 

MINNCOR Industries 

13 

OPEN GOLF CLASSIC 

Majestic Oaks, Ham Lake 

SePTeMBer 2010 

14-16 

IMTS 2010 

MPMA Air/Travel Package 

Chicago, Illinois 

July 2010 

For more information or to register for any of 

these events. Please visit www.mpma.com. 

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! 

Alignex, Inc. 

Mike Bailey, marketing manager 

952.888.6801 

mike.bailey@alignex.com 

CAM-TOOL 

Chris Renaud, sales & technical specialist 

519.737.6009 

chris@camtool.com 

Mark Hockley, Alumni 

612.418.8743 

hockleymark@yahoo.com 


© 2009 MasterGraphics 

With the right systems—and technology partner—everything is possible. Every aspect 

of manufacturing is getting faster. But what happens to your business if you aren’t? We 

can help make sure that never happens by enabling your innovation with technology 

that works hard—and smart. From rapid prototyping to lightning-fast design revisions, 

we provide optimal solutions that empower your productivity, enhance your 

sustainability strategies, and better your bottom line. Let us show you how. 

(800) 873.7238 / mastergraphics.com/manufacturing 


Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Journal 

5353 Wayzata Blvd. 

Suite 207 

Minneapolis, MN 55416 

www.pm-mn.com 

PRSRT STD 

U.S. Postage 

Paid 

Documation 

FOOLED 

BY THE OLD 

“HIDDEN BALL” 

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At Plastics International, we specialize in suPPlyIng 

plastics…not MACHInIng plastics. 

7600 Anagram Drive 

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Toll-free: 800.776.7769 

Phone: 952.934.2303 

Fax: 952.934.2314 

www.plasticsintl.com

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