October 2005

MILLER MANUFACTURING HAS PURCHASED THE FORMER NORDICTRACK BUILDING

Miller Manufacturing has purchased the former NordicTrack building and is currently consolidating its manufacturing and distribution operations in the Glencoe facility.

“It’s a long process ,” Jim Bartel, Director of Marketing, said, but the distribution end of the operation has been in operation for two to three weeks, and the manufacturing portion is expected to be ready by the end of December.

The operation will employ about 100 workers when in full operation, and Bartel said about half of those employees will be coming from the company’s Dassel and Amery, Wis., plants, which will close. The other half has been filled locally.

Bartel said Miller Manufacturing was family owned from its inception in 1941 until being sold in 1997 to entrepreneur Dennis Frandsen.

Currently Frandsen’s businesses employ about 1,000 people around the state.

Miller Manufacturing makes farm, ranch and pet projects ranging from rubber water buckets to metal cages and pens to electric cattle prods.

Its three main brands, according to Bartel, include Little Giant containers, Hot Shot prods and Pet Lodge, which includes pet feeding, watering and housing items.

About 70 percent of Miller Manufacturing’s customers are hobby farmers, Bartel said. Dealerships include a variety of big name stores and cooperatives in the U.S. and several foreign countries.

Bartel said the Glencoe plant will house the manufacturing operations from Amery (rubber products) and Dassel (metal products) as well as the company’s distribution system. Eagan will retain Miller Manufacturing’s corporate headquarters, while Savage will continue to manufacture the cattle prods.

The 280,000-square foot Glencoe facility will be for distribution and manufacturing.

Bartel said work continues to get the manufacturing side completed. Work on the roof and pouring of concrete still needs to be done.

The distribution center can ship truck load orders weekly or semi-weekly, Bartel said, and that gives the company an advantage. With the wide variety of products available from Miller Manufacturing, a customer can put in one order and fill a truck. “It’s very efficient and can save the customer on shipping charges. It’s one-stop shopping. It’s a real benefit to customers.”

Miller Manufacturing has invested a total of about $6 million to get the Glencoe facility up and running this year, Bartel said.

The aim is for 10 percent to 20 percent growth annually through expansion of existing product lines, new products and acquisitions.

“There is a lot of potential growth ,” Bartel said, and added that could translate into more employees in the future.

Currently, the operation will have 16 employees working in distribution, 20 in rubber products and 40 in metal products. To start, the plant operation will be five days a week.

Bartel said Miller Manufacturing will be using the entire space of the Glencoe facility.

He emphasized that Miller Manufacturing purchases about 90 percent of its materials from domestic suppliers, but some raw materials come from overseas.