APT Machining: running strong after 30 years

Ashley and Dan Reller’s love of vino inspired them to open Vintage Escapes Winery, but it was the birth of their son, River, that gave them them the impetus. (Photo courtesy of Vintage Escapes Winery)

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capes offers something for everybody, thanks to the development of Minnesota wine over the past few decades.

“We pride ourselves on being able to serve something for everyone,” said Ashley. “No matter what type of wine drinker you are — even if you’re not a wine drinker yet — we’ll find something you’ll like.”

Ashley, who leads the winemaking while Dan manages the vineyard, is particularly proud of their Marquette red. Dark fruit flavors and smoky spice make this especially enticing heading into fall. It’s also been recognized by the International Cold Climate Wine Competition with two gold medals and a “Best in Show.”

Grapes for the 2021 Marquette, to be harvested this fall, will be the first Vintage Escapes wine made only with fruit grown on the property. The property has about 10 acres of viable vine growing land. Ashley and Dan currently cultivate three, with plans to expand as the business grows. With the volume of wine they make, Vintage Escapes will always need additional grapes for many of their varietals. Ashley and Dan try to buy as locally as possible. Winemaking is done entirely onsite.

“Our tasting room is vintage-inspired, very warm and welcoming inside. We also have a large patio with gorgeous lake and countryside views — especially in the fall, when the leaves start to change colors,” said Ashley. “We’re expanding our outdoor area to include a permanent pavilion which will be as big as our indoor tasting room once it’s complete.”

The winery hosts food trucks, live music and events on weekends. Upcoming crafting classes include fallthemed succulent planters and holiday porch pots. One of Ashley and Dan’s goals was to create a place where people could share special moments and “escape” daily life.

“It’s the most heartwarming thing, to see people come out and be able to enjoy themselves, take in the countryside and escape their daily worries,” said Ashley. “That’s what drives us, to see that our wines and our space can make people happy.”

Vintage Escapes is located 10 miles west of Faribault at 8950 Dodd Road, Kilkenny. The tasting room is open Fridays 3 to 9 p.m., Saturdays noon to 9 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. for the season. 

IF YOU GO 8950 Dodd Road, Kilkenny Contact the tasting room during business hours at 507-334-1936. For more information and a schedule of upcoming events, visit vintageescapeswinery.com.

PAID CONTENT

By PAT BECK

Using steel, aluminum and/ or plastic, APT Machining can manufacture precision products for most any type of application. The Kasota-based company manufactures products for all types of industries, including transportation, agriculture, construction, power generation (generators), consumer goods, medical components, and oil and gas manufacturing, across the United States and Mexico.

That diversification has been good for business.

“Throughout the years we’ve always stayed busy because we are so diversified,” owner Brian Mayo said. “We’ve got a larger customer base which keeps us busy even when one customer is slow, we stay busy with others. Like if agricultural is slow then the construction side may be busy. If if construction is slow, the power generation may be busy. Right now it seems like everybody is busy.”

Medical manufacturing is up now because of COVID-19, Mayo said. “There is money to be spent there. People are buying.”

APT’s work can be found most anywhere.

“We do a lot of parts for dump trucks, construction vehicles, farm equipment or a bolt or a hub,” Mayo said.

The process begins with APT getting a drawing or print of the part. Then the information is entered into a computer. APT has nearly 30 CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines and another 10 random

manual or miscellaneous machines.

“It’s all computerized machines where you make a program and put a block of metal in there, and it machines it out,” Mayo said.

“It’s basically the metal component that goes into a larger assembly,” he said. “The customer will send us a print with their specs on it, and then we make one or 100 of them. They may want 1,000 of them, but they want one prototype to make sure everything works.”

APT also does repair work for local construction companies or farmers when needed.

“They’ll bring in whatever is broken, and we’ll either make a new one or fix it,” Mayo said.

The company’s 40 employees perform a variety of jobs, such as machine programmers who set up the machines, operators who run them, saw operators, welders and quality control, which does the inspections. Many of the employees have gone through the machine tool program at South Central College.

APT currently has a half dozen jobs open, including machinists and machine operators.

Despite the difficulty filling some positions and increased cost of materials, business has been going well, Mayo said.

APT has grown over the years. In the last 10 years, sales have increased a minimum of 10% per year from just over $1 million to over $4 million annually.

Mayo’s father, Mike, started the business in 1990 as APT Machining and Fabricating in Mankato. Then in 2005 the business expanded to a new 20,000-square foot building in Kasota. Brian Mayo purchased the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) part of of the business in 2008 and the other half in 2013 when his dad retired.

It remains a family business with Brian’s wife, Maegan, doing the accounting and sons, Arick, 26, and Riley, 21, working in the shop. Arick does programming and Computer Aided Design (drafting) and Riley does machine maintenance and robotics automation. 

320 E Industrial St., Kasota aptmachining.com Apply: aptmachining.com/ careers

ATP Machine Operator Matt Johnson works on deburring baseplates and drilling holes for an overhead industrial door. (Pat Beck/southernminn.com)