By Ivan Raconteur
Staff Writer

The City of Winsted continues to attract industries that bring business to the city, contribute to the city’s growth, and provide employment opportunities.

AAA GALVANIZING, opened a new 80,000-square-foot facility in Winsted February of 2008; its seventh plant in the country. The plant opening was the result of a strategic partnership with Millerbernd Manufacturing. The company expects to add 50 new jobs in the first two years of operation. The company is based in Joliet, Illinois.

ADVANTAGE MAILING, located at 585 Industrial Boulevard, specializes in direct mail production services. The company was previously located in Waconia, but moved into a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Winsted in June 2006. The company currently employs about 45 people. For more information, call (320) 485-4000 or fax: (320) 485-4001. The web site is www.advantagemailing.com.
apex advantage, located at 590 Industrial Boulevard, specializes in fulfillment and distribution. For more information, call (320) 485-4300, fax: (320) 485-4305. The web site is www.apexadvantageinc.com or e-mail at info@apexadvan.com.

AWI MANUFACTURING, located at 3902 230th St., Winsted, employs about 42 people. It specializes in stainless steel fabrication and laser cutting.

Since 1981, AWI Manufacturing has been supplying the community with jobs and providing products for companies all over the world. For more information, call (320) 485-2471.

DIMAX CORP., located at 1107 Industrial Lane, is a manufacturer of non-metallic die-cut parts such as gaskets, seals, pads, cushions, and structural supports. The company is growing at a rate of 35 percent per year, and currently has five full-time employees. For more information, call (320) 485-3232 fax: (320) 485-3233, and e-mail: info@dimaxcorp.com. The web site is www.dimaxcorp.com.

EDCO MANUFACTURING, located at 311 McLeod Avenue West, is a commercial sewing, heat sealing, and die cutting contractor that has been in business since 1960.

Some of Edco’s products include tarps, covers, bags, tractor seats, cushions, tumbling and wall mats, vinyl and upholstered seating, curtain dividers, awnings, canopies, wheelchair upholstery, banner materials, and canvas products.

For more information, call (320) 485-2322 or e-mail joedcomfg@aol.com.

FIVE STAR DIRECT, located at 351 Lewis Avenue West, is a direct mail production business that moved to Winsted from Delano, bringing 60 jobs. The company has continued to grow, and now employs nearly 150 people. The owners are Joe Remer and Dick Borrell. For more information, call (320) 485-7827, fax: (320) 485-5030, e-mail: johnz@fivestardirectmail.com, or see its web site at www.fivestardirectmail.com.

K-WAY EX-PRESS/K-WAY LOGISTICS K-way Express, formerly Winsted Farm Equipment, began in 1949. The company employs 40 to 45 full- and part-time employees.

Since 1955, both local and long haul trucking have been the main business for this company. K-Way Logistics was added in 2005, and provides brokerage services. For more information, call (320) 485-2325 or visit www.kwaytrucking.com

LITTFIN LUMBER started in 1962 and is still locally owned. It manufactures wood roof and floor trusses as well as finger-jointed treated columns for agricultural and commercial pole barn structures. In addition, Littfin Lumber designs and supplies engineered wood products by I-Level for floor and roof systems throughout the upper Midwest. As it grew, Littfin kept its corporate headquarters in Winsted. However, manufacturing now takes place just to the north, near Howard Lake.

Employing 350 people, Littfin Lumber is one of the largest employers in Winsted. Typically, Littfin’s product is delivered using its own fleet of trucks, which total about one million miles each year.

Initially starting as a lumber yard, Littfin Lumber decided to specialize in one area and do it well. Coming from that background and understanding the ever-changing needs of its customers, Littfin Lumber was, and is, instrumental in developing equipment, programs, and processes that have become standards for the industry. The result of that effort is a less costly, better made product, delivered on time to its customers.

Being one of the largest truss manufacturers in the country operating out of a single plant, people nationally and internationally recognize that effort and regularly ask for some opinions that may help in their particular situations. For more information, call (320) 485-3861 or visit www.littfintruss.com.

MILLERBERND DESIGN AND FABRICATION (MDF) is a local stainless steel fabrication company. The company manufactures equipment for the food and dairy industry, as well as offering custom fabrication and design. MDF also offers complete engineering, programming, and assembly of computerized process control systems to automate and regulate production equipment.

The company was started in the 1930s by the Millerbernd brothers, Carl and Paul. They separated in about 1946 to become today’s Millerbernd Design & Fabrication and Millerbernd Manufacturing companies. Millerbernd Design and Fabrication employs approximately 70 people. MDF fabricates products for companies all over the world.

For more information, call (320) 485-2685, fax (320) 485-3900. e-mail: sales@millerbernd.com. The web site is www.millerbernd.com.

MILLERBREND MANUFACTURING: One of Winsted’s distinguishing features is Millerbernd Manufacturing’s 208-foot high mast lighted pole on which flies a 30’ x 50’ American flag during national holidays and special occasions.

Millerbernd builds tapered steel poles for lighting applications and custom steel rings and cylinders used for large scale electric motor and generator housings. Some of the many lighting pole products manufactured are street lighting poles, sports floodlighting poles, traffic signal poles, high mast lighting poles, and decorative lighting poles.

Millerbernd has been in business since 1933 and employs approximately 200 people. The company offers an excellent employee retirement and benefits package. Millerbernd products are sold throughout the continental United States and in Puerto Rico and Alaska.

For more information, call (320) 485-2111, fax number is (320) 485-4420, and e-mail is dclark@millerberndmfg.com. Its web site is www.millerberndmfg.com.

O’MATT FLOORCOVERING, is a floor covering contractor located at 311 McLeod Avenue West. Since 1990, the company has been providing and installing floor covering in the area. The company’s showroom offers a variety of floor covering items. O’Matt Floorcovering is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (320) 485-4636 or e-mail: omattfloors@aol.com.

RAM BUILDINGS, INC. has been located at 592 Industrial Drive, in Winsted’s industrial park, for the past nine years. RAM Buildings, Inc. provides a full range of construction capabilities in both wood frame and steel frame building solutions, from equestrian facilities and commercial buildings, to aircraft hangars, residential storage and agricultural buildings.

RAM GENERAL CONTRACTING, INC., also located at 592 Industrial Drive, offers a one-stop source for complete building projects from start to finish, including Construction Management services. RAM General Contracting, Inc. also has an Excavating Division, providing services including earth-moving for small driveways and building pads, digging for footings and finish grading.

RAM BUILDING SUPPLY is a retail lumberyard for contractors and do-it-yourself customers. Located behind RAM Buildings, Inc. in the Winsted Industrial Park, RAM Building Supply is open for business Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 4:30 pm.

For more information:
Telephone: (320) 485-2844
Toll-Free: (800) 710-4726
Fax: (320) 485-3625
Email: sales@rambuildings.com
Website: www.rambuildings.com

SJF MATERIAL HANDLING, INC., located at 211 Baker Ave., has been the nation’s largest material handing dealer since 1979. Featuring the nation’s largest inventory of pallet racks, conveyors and other warehouse equipment. SJF is known as a premier systems integrator who had worked with several fortune 500 companies to design and implement large-scale warehouse and distribution systems.

For design and engineering, to programming and installation, SJF is the solution for your material handling needs.

For more information, call (320) 485-2824, fax: (320) 485-2832, and e-mail: support@sjf.com. Visit SJF’s web site at www.sjf.com to view their inventory or for more information.

SOLID SURFACE INCOUNTERS, is located in Winsted’s Industrial Park. It is co-owned by Richard Scott of Plato and Lisa Hennessey of Winsted.

The company manufactures a wide variety of products including countertops, islands, vanities, tub surrounds, table tops, wet bars, flooring, mantels, and hearths.

It works with a variety of solid surfaces, but mainly with Corian, which is a product manufactured by DuPont.

Solid Surface InCounters is DuPont Corian-certified. The nearest facilities with this certification are located in Sioux Falls, S.D. and Fargo, N.D.

Solid Surface employs a few part-time workers for installation, but Hennessey and Scott do all of the manufacturing work themselves.

TETRA PAK CPS, (formerly CPS SCHERPING) employs 150 people in the stainless steel fabrication industry.

Since 1968, the company has been a stainless steel equipment manufacturer for the food and dairy industry; a provider of custom manufacturing, patented cheese making equipment, process piping, process control systems, engineering, design, installation, start-up, plant renovation and turn-key projects for cheese and dairy plants.

Like the other fabrication companies in Winsted, the company’s customers come from all over, bringing business into the city.

For more information, call (320) 485-4401. The fax number is (320) 485-2666. Visit the company’s website at www.tetrapak.com/cheese.

VITRANEXPRESS, formerly Quast Transfer, is located at 1300 County Road 1, and employs 64 people in Winsted. The total employment for the company is 3,000 people. Vitran is a Canadian-owned LLC based in Toronto, Canada, with US headquarters in Indianapolis.

Vitran provides expedited LTL (Less Than a Truckload) service to and from 31 states, plus all of Canada. Quast Transfer was incorporated in 1953 in Winsted as a LTL freight carrier, transporting freight from the Winsted area to the Twin Cities.

The company experienced tremendous growth following deregulation of the trucking industry in the 1980s. Associates in Winsted provide customer service for the entire company, while drivers who live here provide pick-up and delivery service for towns within a 60-mile radius of Winsted.

Reach Vitran Express by phone at (800) 967-3331, (320) 485-2101, fax (763) 913-3341 or e-mail customerservice@vitranexpress.com. Visit the company’s web site at www.vitran-express.com.

WASTE MANAGEMENT, located at 10030 Industrial Drive, is a leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services. Based in Houston, the company maintains 413 collection operations, and serves nearly 21 million residential, industrial, municipal, and commercial customers. For more information, call (320) 485-2372, or visit the company’s web site, www.wm.com.