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ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
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HEARD?
You might not hear much about them, but there are some fascinating businesses in Bemidji and the surrounding area, and our 2020 Annual Report is telling their stories. The photo on this year’s cover is a good example. It shows a plasma cutting table at Bemidji Steel Company, which has been in business since 1983 in the city’s industrial park. There are plenty of other similar stories. Too many, in fact, to all be included in this special section. We hope you enjoy reading our stories and learn some things about a vibrant business community and region.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
www. bemidjipioneer.com
The Bemidji Pioneer
Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer
Grizzly Truss has expanded from being solely a truss company, adding wall panels and a retail lumber yard.
Grizzly Truss Fabricators expands to fill emerging needs By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com BEMIDJI — Mike and Dylan Hoven both started their careers with Grizzly Truss Fabricators the same way: catching wood from the saw. Apparently that’s how members of the family are initiated into a Bemidji business that was started 48 years ago by Jerry Hoven, Mike’s father
and Dylan’s grandfather. Mike, 56, was only 12 years old when he started working at Grizzly Truss in the Bemidji Industrial Park. Dylan, 27, hung out at the business as a teenager, but says he only worked as a catcher on the saw when he needed some spending money. Today, the father-son
team leads a business that has expanded from a truss company, adding wall panels and a retail lumber yard to the fold. It employs as many as 30 in the summer months, and 12-15 year-round. “A lot of people still think of us as just a truss plant,” Dylan said. “They don’t even know what a wall panel plant is and
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what it has to offer. I think a lot of them are just thinking we’re still wholesale, so they’re not a whole lot coming through our door. That’s part of the controlled growth.” When Jerry Hoven started the business in 1972, Grizzly Truss was a pole barn manufacturer. After a few years, he realized the area needed a plant
that could build trusses, so the company went in that direction. “The truss plants back then were far away, and to get trusses for the pole barns was difficult,” Mike said. “So they started building their own. I remember the first press we had, you couldn’t even call it a press. It was a slab of concrete, like a 600-
pound weight on a big beam. They’d wench this weight up and then release it, and it just slammed the plates. That’s how they did them back then.” Grizzly Truss left the Hovens for a few years after Jerry sold it, but Mike brought it back into the family in 1990 after spending some time away. Continued on D3
The Bemidji Pioneer
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
www.bemidjipioneer.com
Saturday, August 1, 2020
Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer
Mike and Dylan Hoven are a father-son duo who both got their starts as youngsters at Grizzly Truss, located in Bemidji’s Industrial Park. The company was started in 1972 by Mike’s father, Jerry Hoven. Continued from D2 “I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Mike said. “I owned other businesses. When I was getting married, this place was up for sale and I nabbed it. I was very excited to get back into it.” Technology has impacted many industries, and Grizzly Truss is no exception. “We now have computerized saws, we have lasers, we have stackers,” Mike said. “We’ve gone as automated as you can, maybe you could go one step further, although they are coming out with robots now.” That technology has allowed the company to adapt to more complex construction jobs. “In the 1970s and ’80s they didn’t have the computer programs like they
future. “I don’t see a cap,” Dylan said, “because there’s always innovation and we’ll always have that truss plant and wall panel plant behind that lumber yard. That’s what is getting people through the door. That one-on-one sit down with the design type of thing. The windows, the doors and lumber yard materials just will follow that. That’s the niche we feel we have to get people through the door.” Mike Hoven smiles as he listens to his son talk about the future. He thinks about what Jerry Hoven started nearly 50 years ago, and how happy the founder would be. “He would be extremely proud,” Mike said.
have today,” Mike said. “Houses were pretty simple. The pitches were pretty shallow. A hip-set back then was a more complicated roof. Today I can do a job that has 100 different setups in it for one house. Back then you would look up the joints and the cutting on microfiche and make a copy of it. “Now I do it all right here on the computer. I just click and drag it and send it out to the saw, and send it out to the press. Builders can come in and we can design together. Since we opened the lumber yard that has made things easier. The contractors will come in and we can go over it, and make the changes here, which saves them a lot of time, and us a lot of headache.” Dylan says he is excited about the company’s
Dennis Doeden is the former publisher of the Pioneer. You can reach him at (218) 333-9771.
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Our HISTORY! Grizzly Truss Fabricators was founded in 1972 by Jerry Hoven as a pole barn manufacturer. G Manufacturing pole barns eventually led into designing and building trusses. Our initial truss facility has expanded many times over the years. We grew by emphasizing Jerry’s motto of “listening to our customers’ needs while building on our dedication to quality products and prompt service.” GRIZZLY TRUSS REMAINS A FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY BUILT ON JERRY’S PRINCIPLES.
Lumber Yard • Knowledgeable estimators with years of service in the building industry, and provide free estimates. • Wide selection of inventory including shingles, soffit & fascia cover, treated lumber, along with many more products. • Proud dealers of multiple quality building materials, including windows (Marvin) and doors (Acclimated, Therma-Tru).
Wall Panel and Truss Plant • Design and produce pre-manufactured wall panels and wood/floor trusses, and pass the savings on to you! • The plant consists of a fully automated production line with the ability to deliver the panels of various sizes.
residential • We’ll make sure the project is efficient and cost-effective as possible – without sacrificing quality and service. • Grizzly has produced many custom homes to include custom siding, custom windows, custom doors, while also offering custom colors and wood species.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
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The Bemidji Pioneer
From humble beginnings, JC Custom Welding & Electric has adapted By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com BEMIDJI — Josh Copiskey was 19 years old when he started a welding business in his mom’s garage near Bemidji. Fast forward some 24 years, and his JC Custom Welding & Electric Inc. company has become the kind of success story that few could have imagined. Josh certainly imagined it. “You know, I had big dreams and big goals,” he said. “I didn’t expect anything less. I was reaching for the stars.” Since that humble start in 1996, Josh has been joined by his older brother, Matt. Together they’ve built a company that includes more than 100 employees, seven different divisions and locations in Bemidji, Texas and Colorado. Matt, 47, is chairman of the board and heads up the electrical divisions. Josh, 43, is president and chief financial officer. The company employs welders, electricians, shop fabricators, and millwrights, and does work both locally and on a national level. It didn’t start out that way. “I remember when I had no work in the early days,” Josh said. “I went through the Yellow Pages under Contractors. I called every single contractor, and you wouldn’t believe how many there are in the Yellow Pages until you actually call every single one. None of them had any work until I got to the very last one.
“That was Zetah Construction of Bemidji. Josh introduced himself to owner Howie Zetah and was able to get some of his first big welding jobs, including one project at Northwest Technical College. Zetah was impressed with Josh’s determination. “He just wanted to learn so much,” Zetah said, “and it was nice to see someone come in and ask questions and want to achieve what he did. You’ve got to start somewhere. He’s very intelligent. He’s very grounded, sticks to it and is focused. To this day he’s a good friend and we work with him often.” Josh appreciated the early support, and said he paid back the loan in full with profits from that first job. “One thing we’ve maintained through all these years that I think has helped us stay afloat while Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer others are crumbling is A JC Custom Welding & Electric employee works on a welding project on July 10 at their shop in Bemidji. we’ve maintained to be a debt-free company,” Josh said “That helps us in the lean times.” Continued on D5
Left: This 14-bay truck rack, one of the largest in the country, is another project that JC Custom Welding & Electric completed. Right: An example of JC Custom Welding & Electric’s national projects: 1,000-foot super tankers for the oil industry are loaded onto ships in Houston, Texas. Submitted photos.
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The Bemidji Pioneer
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
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Saturday, August 1, 2020
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0DWW DQG -RVK &RSLVNH\ DUH FR RZQHUV RI -& &XVWRP :HOGLQJ (OHFWULF LQ %HPLGML Continued from D4 And there have been some lean times. Early on, JC Custom Welding was able to find a niche in the logging industry, working with the former Potlatch oriented strand board (OSB) plants in Bemidji, Cook and Grand Rapids. When those plants started shutting down, JC Custom pivoted its focus to the oil and gas industry. “Now we’re servicing three major pipeline companies across the United States,” Josh said. “We thought the worst was coming ... and now last year we had our best gross sales ever. We’re up to around 100 employees now and going stronger than ever.” “One thing we’ve maintained through all these years that I think has helped us stay afloat while others are crumbling is we’ve maintained to be a debt-free company,” Josh said “That helps us in the lean times.” And there have been some lean times. Early on, JC Custom Welding was able to find a niche in the logging
industry, working with the former Potlatch oriented strand board (OSB) plants in Bemidji, Cook and Grand Rapids. When those plants started shutting down, JC Custom pivoted its focus to the oil and gas industry. “Now we’re servicing three major pipeline companies across the United States,” Josh said. “We thought the worst was coming ... and now last year we had our best gross sales ever. We’re up to around 100 employees now and going stronger than ever.” The company’s divisions are: Ź Welding and fabrication Ź Site welding and millwrighting Ź Electrical Ź Predictive maintenance Ź Machine shop Ź Pipeline fabricating and welding Ź Advanced electrical systems testing All of this started when Josh was a teenager. “I loved working with metal,” he said. “So I would find chunks of metal, make knives or
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whatever I could out of it. When I got to Bemidji High School in the welding shop and machine shop, I really started enjoying it. I was a kid who at 13 years old asked for a bench grinder for Christmas. And then for Christmas my whole family pitched in and got me a $200 welder when I was 15 or 16.” Meanwhile, his brother Matt was working in the electrical industry after earning a degree in robotic automated systems. After working for 3M and Potlatch, Matt joined his brother in 2000 and launched the electrical division. “We’re both mentors to each other,” Matt said. “I couldn’t imagine any other way. I’ve always trusted him with everything. That’s why it works. We don’t overlap into each other’s stuff. They’re two separate things altogether. There is some common ground between us with our customers, but we do two totally different things.” Dennis Doeden is the former publisher of the Pioneer. You can reach him at (218) 333-9771.
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Saturday, August 1, 2020
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
www. bemidjipioneer.com
The Bemidji Pioneer
VRTX Laserworks offers custom designs of all kinds By Annalise Braught abraught@bemidjipioneer.com BEMIDJI — Many around the Bemidji community know Tricia Robinson as the owner and operator of the Minute59 Mystery and Escape Rooms, but as of last year, she’s now running two businesses in town. Robinson was working full-time at Sanford Eye Center as an optician when she opened Minute59 in June 2017. “Starting out, I was doing Sanford during the day and the escape room on nights and weekends,” she explained. “I did that for two years until last year in February when I left Sanford and became a full-time entrepreneur.” With a strong desire to be her own boss, Robinson opened VRTX Laserworks Studio, right next door to her beloved escape rooms, just a few months later. The studio, located at 802 Paul Bunyan Drive S, Suite 16, opened to the public in late May 2019. Her store is arrayed with a variety of custom designs which have been engraved on anything from key chains, wedding invitations, cups and cutting boards, all the way to large wall hangings. “I’m open to the public as a retailer, but my main focus is businessto-business sales,” Robinson explained. “Like if a business wants their logo on a clipboard or mouse pad, or they want a sign for their store.” One thing that set her
on the computer, if it’s a line that is a certain thickness it’s a cut line, anything smaller is an engraving line,” Robinson explained of the process. A word like VRTX isn’t one many are familiar with, but Robinson explained she had a special reason for choosing it. “In geometry a vertex is where two things meet, and because of the way the laser kind of focuses that light — those rays of light — I thought it was fitting. But I took the E’s out because that’s cooler,” she said with a smile. One of the main benefits Robinson feels like her endeavor has had so far is all the ways she’s able to help out other local businesses. “There are so many random things I’ve been able to do,” she said. “Like I’ve been doing stuff for AirCorps Aviation — cutting gaskets and parts out of softer materials.” She also partners with local businesses such as 218 Clothing + Gift and Compass Rose, makes stencils for Isaiah’s Woodworking and does paper cutting for Amity Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer Graphics. VRTX Laserworks Studio owner Tricia Robinson lifts a wooden sign out of a laser printer in her studio workshop. “This past winter Hannah from Compass Rose on the path of opening her or offered that service,” the escape rooms. Plus, machine can engrave and came to me and needed studio was when looking she explained. “It got me she’d have the machine cut products and materials some tree cutouts for an for items for her escape thinking, if I’m looking and felt that was a service made of things like wood, art class she was doing, rooms. for this chances are others she could offer many other glass, ceramic, leather, and she couldn’t find them anywhere,” Robin“There were some props are too.” local businesses. plastic and paper. Though son said. “She asked, ‘Hey and stuff that I wanted She was also still lookIt was a large investment to make, but they could ing for a day job to replace — $53,000 to be exact — she cannot cut things like can you make these?’ and only be laser cut and I her work at the eye cen- and as scary as it was at metal and steel, they can I was like, ‘sure can!’ and we were able to get them couldn’t find any place ter so she would have the time, Robinson said be engraved. that was able to do that more time to devote to she hasn’t regretted it. Her “When I set a design up done in no time.” Continued on D7
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
Continued from D6 Robinson explained that a lot of the wholesalers and businesses she works with already have their designs in mind, which they send to her primarily ready to go. Others are made of things she’s seen and recreated with her own spin on it, or she’s simply dreamed up on her own. Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer “I don’t always know $ FULEEDJH VHW LV HQJUDYHG ZLWK D 3DXO %XQ\DQ DQG %DEH what will come in on a WKH %OXH 2[ ORJR GHVLJQHG E\ 7ULFD 5RELQVRQ¶V EURWKHU given day for me to do. People ask if I can do certain things and it’s honestly easier for me to say what I can’t do than what I can,” Robinson said with a laugh. “That’s a much shorter list.” Robinson has lots of ideas of where she’d like to go next. She is hoping to get more equipment within the next six months or so that would enable her to print a Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer variety of colors on her 7ULFLD 5RELQVRQ RႇHUV D YDULHW\ RI SURGXFWV ZLWK FXVWRP designs, expanding her GHVLJQV DW KHU 957; /DVHUZRUNV 6WXGLR LQ %HPLGML business. “I think there is so much potential. Once I really get the word out there that I’m here and in business, I will probably be busier than I can handle,” Robinson said. “It’s been quite a journey and going in I really didn’t realize just how much I would love it.” For more information on VRTX Laserworks, visit www.vrtxlaserworks.com.
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Annalise Braught is the managing editor at the Pioneer. She can be reached at (218) 333-9796.
Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
www. bemidjipioneer.com
The Bemidji Pioneer
With Alaska roots, TroutBeads finds home in Bemidji
By Austin Monteith amonteith@bemidjipioneer.com
Trout fishing may not be common around northern Minnesota, but there’s one Bemidji business that caters to anglers across the continent. TroutBeads has called Bemidji home since 2019 and makes fishing beads that mimic the look of natural fish eggs, a useful approach for catching trout, salmon and steelhead. Their beads come in a variety of eye-popping colors, which is what makes them appealing to fish and anglers alike. “It’s a lot like if you were using a fly for fly fishing to mimic the larva or the bugs on the water,” owner Sandy Heffner said. “The beads are meant to mimic the eggs floating in the water.” Millions of beads are housed in TroutBeads’ small warehouse near the south shore of Lake Bemidji. The company’s more than 700 products are sold online at TroutBeads. com and through its dealers and distributors in 19 states and four Canadian provinces. The business actually originated in Cooper Landing, Alaska, a small town on the Kenai Peninsula about 100 miles south of Anchorage. Heffner’s first husband, Cameron Hawthorne, came up with the idea for TroutBeads in 2004. “It was the brainchild of my first husband, who passed away in 2014, but we had a lodge and a small little tackle shop,” Heffner said. “We were able to do all kinds of things in there to experiment with
Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer
Top: TroutBeads makes ¿VKLQJ EHDGV WKDW PLPLF WKH ORRN RI QDWXUDO ¿VK HJJV D XVHIXO DSSURDFK IRU FDWFKLQJ WURXW salmon and steelhead. Bottom: TroutBeads RႇHUV D QXPEHU RI EULJKW FRORUV DQG DOVR D JORZ LQ WKH GDUN RSWLRQ /HIW 6DQG\ +HႇQHU LV WKH RZQHU RI 7URXW%HDGV D FRPSDQ\ WKDW ZDV VWDUWHG LQ Alaska in 2004. new things to catch fish. Up there at the time, real bait wasn’t permitted, so people were looking for something artificial.” Heffner is from Alaska and her husband, Mo, hails from Michigan, so how did they end up in Bemidji? “I have an extremely supportive husband and we came here on our honeymoon a few years ago and we loved it,” Heffner
said. “We fell in love with it right when we got here and decided that we would want to be here.” The Heffners set out from their previous home in Billings, Montana, and moved to Bemidji last year, taking TroutBeads with them. “We just fell in love with the people and the way people are here and how beautiful it is,” Heffner said. “The question that
people ask us all the time is, ‘Well, why do you have a company here that specializes in salmon, trout and steelhead when that isn’t really the fishing thing here?’ But we’re an online company. We sell online, we’re not open to the public, so we can kind of be anywhere we want.” The company is developing products to try to expand into this neck of the woods with beads for
walleye and bass that can be used for lure building and crawler harnesses. “It’s evolved a lot in the last 5-6 years,” Heffner said. “We’ve added lots of new products, lots of new colors, new packaging. We have a new logo and a brand new website. Thankfully, I’ve been really blessed that it’s growing.” For a company with
Alaska roots, TroutBeads has found a new home in Bemidji. “We’re really thankful to be here and we’re really thankful that people here are so nice,” Heffner said. “That was one of the things that impressed me so much is that there really is such a thing as Minnesota nice.” Austin Monteith is the sports editor for the Pioneer. Readers can reach him at (218) 333-9787.
The Bemidji Pioneer
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
www.bemidjipioneer.com
Saturday, August 1, 2020
D9
Bemidji Bus Line transports people, makes memories By Austin Monteith amonteith@bemidjipioneer.com BEMIDJI — For anyone who’s ever ridden a bus in Bemidji — whether it be to a football game, wedding or church gathering — chances are it was a Bemidji Bus Line bus. The company has provided transportation to the people of Bemidji for nearly a century. Owner Rob Wicklund, a third-generation bus operator, has been at the wheel of the business since 2007, though the company has been serving the area for far longer than that. “Bemidji Bus Line can trace its history back to actually the 1920s, believe it or not,” Wicklund said. “It started as more of a local city transit kind of thing.” The company’s buses now ferry people around the area and beyond in their familiar white and blue livery. They’ve recently unveiled a special new bus design that features plaid lettering to match the attire of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, who are emblazoned on the side. “There’s all kinds of things that we do as far as types of things in the community,” said Wicklund, noting the company provides buses for conventions, events like International Day at Concordia Language Villages and even forestry researchers. “I’m tremendously proud of what we can do and being part of events that are important to people,” Wicklund continued. Other than the drivers, perhaps nobody spends more time riding in Bemidji Bus Line buses than the town’s students. Bemidji High School uses the company’s fleet to transport students across the state for a variety of activities and sports.
“I remember during the 2020 graduation that they did over the radio (that) there were several students that listed that some of their best memories in high school were riding buses back from Vocalmotive and other athletic or activity trips,” Wicklund said. “I’m pretty proud of that because I think we’re part of important times for people and events that make memories. We may be a small part of it, but we’re a part of it.” The company’s buses have ventured not only across Minnesota, but to places as far flung as San Diego, Orlando, Fla., New York and Washington, D.C. Bemidji Bus Line is also a military approved bus carrier, a designation only 10% of companies nationally carry, which allows the company to transport military members. Wicklund’s buses aren’t making as many trips this year. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the bus industry particularly hard. “It’s affected our entire industry. Almost 100% closure,” he said. “We’ve had some trips now (in July), but prior to that we’ve had nothing since March 13. It was a complete shutdown, and that’s nationwide in our industry, too. It’s not just us.” Bemidji Bus Line took part in an event called Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness back in May when the industry requested $15 billion in federal grants and loan guarantees to aid businesses. The company sent a bus to St. Paul to take part in a send-off for buses that were among hundreds that traveled to Washington, D.C. “It was great to be part of that event,” Wicklund said. “Of course, it was a time commitment and there was a cost to it, but it was good to be part of it
Hannah Olson / Bemidji Pioneer
Above: Rob Wicklund, owner of Bemidji Bus Lines, stands onboard one of the company’s coach buses. Below: Two employees converse outside of the Bemidji Bus Lines garage. and try and bring awareness to it. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a whole lot of movement yet on any of that, but we’re hopeful and hopefully things start opening up soon for us.” A group of 40 employees keep the buses running smoothly, hopefully for another century. “We have an excellent crew of drivers here and shop staff,” Wicklund said. “I rely on our team very much. We have a lot of good people, a lot of people that have been here for a long time. I appreciate their longevity of being here.” Austin Monteith is the sports editor for the Pioneer. Readers can reach him at (218) 333-9787.
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