Category Archive: Uncategorized
Last week, we talked about the largest ice fishing contest in the world, the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza. Yet not far from this event, is a little smaller, but just as prestigious ice fishing tournament. Located on Garrison Bay of Mille Lacs Lake, the Fishing for Ducks contest attracts thousands to the area, to try their luck at catching a prize worthy Mille Lacs fish.
Hosted by the Mille Lacs chapter of Ducks Unlimited, the Fishing for Ducks contest began in 2005 and attracted 652 people. Today, the event reaches numbers close to 2,500. In the last few years, Ducks Unlimited volunteers drill nearly 5,000 holes across Garrison bay on Mille Lacs Lake, the night before the event, and then wait for the fun to begin. Much like the Extravaganza on Gull, the prizes are a huge draw to the event. The Ducks Unlimited event gives away $100,000 in prizes, including a new Chevy pickup or $20,000 cash, a new Ice Castle fish house, ATV’s, and of course much more.
Although all the hype about the event revolves around the prizes and fishing, the mission of Ducks Unlimited is so much more than that. The overall goal is to raise money and support for waterfowl conservation. Ducks Unlimited prides its self in continuing to support and protect wetlands for waterfowl, and since 1937 has conserved over 13 million acres nationwide. Today, Ducks Unlimited has habitat projects in all 50 states, every province in Canada, and in key areas of Mexico and Latin America, and has delivered more than 20,000 conservation projects across North America. As for the fishing contest on Mille Lacs, the Garrison chapter of Ducks Unlimited has raised nearly $250,000 since 2005 for waterfowl conservation, ranking them in the top 25 Ducks Unlimited Chapters in the United States.
This year’s event will take place on February 20th, with the “Friday Night Flight” kickoff party taking place at the Y Club Bar and Grill on Friday, February 19th. The pre-event will include door prizes, silent auction, raffles and dinner and drink specials.
So if you’re in the area on February 20th, try your luck on Mille Lacs Lake, at the Fishing for Ducks ice fishing contest.
Every winter thousands of Minnesotans head out on one of the 10,000 frozen lakes, for one of most common pass times, ice fishing. Yet, there is one particular day that gets over 10,000 fisherman and women on one lake at the same time.
Every year the Brainerd lakes area plays host to the largest charitable ice fishing contest in North America, the Brainerd Jaycee’s $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza. In the early 90’s the Brainerd Jaycees had a desire to develop a signature project that would raise money for local charities, provide avenues for individual growth, as well as draw people to the lakes area during the winter months. In January of 1991, the first contest was held on Gull Lake’s Hole in the Day bay, with the intent to gather a couple hundred people to come out and fish for prizes, while making a donation to local charities in the process. The founders never imagined that the event would become the world’s largest ice fishing contest.
Since 1991, the Ice Fishing Extravaganza has continued to grow, into the event we see today. In the last few years, over 20,000 holes have been drilled across Hole in the Day bay, along with a large tent city being set up, and many other amenities laid out across the lake, to accommodate the nearly 12,000 people who will try their luck at catching the prize winning fish. Although the contest is named the $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza, the Jaycee’s chair says that the prizes given away total closer to $190,000. The prizes include a long list of things, such as a new truck, fish house, ATV’s, augers, $10,000 cash and much more. Yet the Extravaganza is so much more than the fishing and the prizes. Over the 26 years of hosting the event, the Extravaganza has raised more than 2.6 million dollars for local charities, with a major beneficiary being the Confidence Learning Center, a local camp for people with disabilities. The event is entirely volunteer run with over 200 people pitching in to help on the ice and the entire event is set up in just under two days. Along with this work done, there is a core committee of 30 members who put in nearly 2,000 hours throughout the year to plan and prepare for the event.
Although poor ice conditions have pushed this year’s event back to February 6th, the Extravaganza is still set to go for 2016, with everyone’s safety always in mind. This year’s event will get kicked off on Friday night at Grandview Lodge with a dinner and door prizes, with the main event to follow in the morning.
If you are going to be in the Brainerd Lakes area on February 6th, come on out and be part of the world’s largest charity ice fishing tournament!
Within Stern Rubber’s backyard, there are hundreds of things to do, no matter the season, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, boating, and golf, to name a few. Yet, one unique summer event draws huge crowds to a small town just outside of Staples, and that is the Leader Pig races.
Leader, which is located about 20 miles northeast of Staples, is home to the Bears Den Bar and Grill. This establishment has a creative twist to the normal small town bar atmosphere. Beginning in late May and going until Labor Day, Bears Den owner Gary Dauer hosts the crowd pleasing pig races, every Friday and Saturday night. This event started over 15 years ago, as a way to draw more people to the small town of Leader, and since then has grown into an event on many families’ summer calendars. The show consists of a series of fun events lasting about 2-3 hours, geared toward kids and families, while also offering a little adult humor and fun for all.
This fun weekly event is much more than just racing pigs, and offers other fun activities including a hula hoop contest, jump rope, redneck horseshoes, and a crowd favorite: bouncy horse racing, which leads to some humorous spills and thrills. Of course, the races would not be complete without the main event, the racing of the “LA Racing Piggies.” The races consist of 4-5 piglets, running through the custom made track, while crowd favorite and bar owner, Gary gives some fun and humorous commentary. The show is a Minnesota favorite, and offers the opportunity for parents and their kids to get out and enjoy a fun evening.
The LA racing pigs do not spend all their time in just Leader, Minnesota. Throughout the year, Gary and his race team travel around the state, displaying their talents at county fairs and other community gatherings. Nothing brought the LA racing team into the spotlight more, than when Gary headed south to Marshall, Texas in 2012 to try to set the Texas state record on a quarter mile track, while offering the audience a very memorable show. Gary and his pig racing team set the state record (although there was not one previously established), and also gave the fans a show they never will forget, just as he does every Minnesota summer.
So if you are ever in central Minnesota in the summer, head over to the Bears Den, and check out the LA pig races. It is worth the drive!
Stern Rubber has many customers, and makes many different products for each, including gate valves for American Valve and Hydrant, watch bands for Shinola and Filson. Along with these companies, Stern also has many customers in the business of recreational vehicles, and one of those companies is Arctic Cat.
Arctic Cat was formed in 1960 as Polar Manufacturing, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, by Edgar Hetteen. Hetteen, who was the former co-founder of Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minnesota, known for developing the first snowmobile, took his skills from Polaris and developed what he called Polar Manufacturing. Yet Hetteen soon changed the name to Arctic Enterprises in 1960, just as the companies first snowmobiles rolled off the line.
Hetteen’s snowmobile developing ability continued throughout the 60’s, and in 1970 Arctic Cat launched their new Boss Cat line. This new style of sled, was a set of custom made snowmobiles meant for derby, and drag racing. Yet these speed machines were only a small portion of Hetteen’s new company. Throughout the 70’s, Arctic Cat continued to release many new trail sleds, including the Lynx, the Panther, the Trail Cat, the Jag, and the famous children’s snowmobile, the Kitty Kat. Although Hetteen’s new company seemed to the general public to be direct competition to Polaris Industries. Both David Johnson(owner of Polaris), and Hetteen said they never looked at it that way, and would often help one another out.
As 1980 approached, things for Hetteen and his new company seemed to be going great, and in an attempt to expand the company, Arctic Cat started producing other products such as mini-bikes. and lawn mowers, and bought out several boat manufactures including, Silver Line, Lund, and Sprit Marine. Although the company made this effort to grow, a year with little snow, and over production, pushed Arctic Cat over the edge of bankruptcy in 1982.
Within two years, a new company named Arctco was developed to continue the production of Arctic Cat snowmobiles. The company survived the rest of the 1980’s and continued to be a success at keeping the company alive. By 1996, Arctco decided to change the name back to Arctic Cat. Today Arctic Cat has grown to much more than just snowmobiles, and plays a major role in the world of recreational vehicles, from multiple models of ATVs to side-by-sides. Since 1996, Arctic Cat has moved the corporate realm of the company to Plymouth Minnesota, but continues to do the majority of their manufacturing in Theif River Falls.
As for Edgar Hetteen, his work with recreational vehicles did not end at Arctic Cat. In 1983 Hetteen, along with Gary Lemke co-founded All-Season-Vehicles (ASV) in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. ASV is known for making rubber tracked utility vehicles, but initially built trail grooming equipment for snowmobile trails, and ski hills, and is said to have been one of Hetteen’s most personally profitable business ventures. Hetteen retired from ASV in 2005, and later passed away in 2011. As his obituary states, he was a snowmobile pioneer and a visionary. His legacy in the snowmobile and recreational vehicle industry will never be forgotten.
Stern Rubber Year in Review
2015 was a big year for Stern Rubber Company, that included a new name, some new customers, a few new pieces of equipment, a handful of awards, a much needed building addition, and most of all a new owner.
As the year rolled over to 2015, so did the name of Stern. Previously known as Stern Manufacturing, in order to reflect their expanded manufacturing capabilities and opportunities, the company realized it was time to focus back in on what they know best, and that is manufacturing rubber products. With this change in production, Stern chose to return to the original company name, Stern Rubber Company. On January 1, 2015, Stern Manufacturing became Stern Rubber Company, and although the name changed, Stern still offers additional manufacturing applications to its wide variety of customers.
Along with this change in the name, Stern also received several awards in 2015. In May, the Stern team headed down to Beaumont Texas to visit American Valve and Hydrant, as well as receive the Supplier of the Year Award for 2014. This award goes to the one supplier that is at the top of each purchasing category. Stern won the award with 100% in quality and 100% in on time delivery. Stern has won this award 11 times including winning it 10 times in a row in a stretch from 2005-2014, and Stern hopes to keep the streak alive again this May. Yet the awards did not stop there for Stern Rubber, the company also received two other awards from Polaris Industries. The first was for superior delivery, this award goes to a company who scores a DDR rating of 99.5% or higher and once again Stern scored 100%. The second award from Polaris was for product quality. Stern received an A in the category, with a PPM rate of 45. These awards prompted a companywide picnic lunch, to thank the team for the fantastic job they had done.
With these awards, 2015 also added some new customers for Stern Rubber. In 2013, Stern started making rubber watch bands for the Detroit based company Shinola, and in 2015 Stern gained the business of Filson watches, a sister company of Shinola. This addition allowed Stern to try some new styles, and expand their horizons in the fine watch industry. Along with gaining work from Filson. Stern also began doing work for Tenere, which is a full service contract manufacturer, that specializes in providing engineering support. The company mainly focuses on sheet metal fabrication, rapid prototyping, plastic injection molding, and machining. Sterns involvement with this company comes on the HP sprout computer and scanner, which is used to take a 3D image of an object resting on the rubber platform made here at Stern.
As Stern continued to gain new customers in 2015, the year also brought a much needed building addition. This new addition spanned 12,000 square feet and added a great deal of space to the already existing building. This new facility allowed for an expanded trimming department, a large warehouse area for off shore shipping and receiving, as well as housing the deflashing department. Along with this added manufacturing space, the addition also included 16 new offices spanning two floors, which allowed for the company to finally house all the employees under one roof, instead of spread out across the Staples location.
With all this change in 2015 the biggest and most recent, is the purchase of Stern Rubber by Zhongli Corporation. The Shanghai based company looks to expand its presence in North America, and with its purchase of Stern Rubber, they plan to begin manufacturing here in the United States. Zhongli primarily focuses on making automotive components including bushings, engine mounts, and transmission mounts. Although Stern has had little experience in the automotive industry, the company is excited to gain the opportunity to expand their manufacturing potential, as well as continue to grow their previous business in custom rubber production.
As 2015 comes to an end Stern Rubber is excited to see what is to come, in the new year. The company looks to once again expand the facility to house new production opportunities brought in by Zhongli, as well as continue to expand their current customer base. Of course, 2016 will be no different in the sense of quality, delivery and customer service, in which Stern strives to keep at the top of its priority list.
From all of us here at Stern Rubber Company, Happy New Year!
Happy Holidays from Stern Rubber Company
As December slowly comes to an end, family and friends begin to gather at one another’s homes to celebrate the holidays. Kids return from college for a long break, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, all join together to share gifts, old stories and a good meal. Yet most of all, they just enjoy one another’s company. The family aspect of the holiday season is second to none, and our family of employees here at Stern is no different. From molders to management, Stern’s team is always there for one another.
In 1969, in the small town of Savage, Minnesota, two men, Donovan and Terrel Stern opened the custom rubber molding company known as Stern Rubber. By 1973, the pioneers of this company realized it was time for a change and they moved their operation from the Savage location, to a brand new 9,600 square foot building in the Staples Industrial Park.
Within the next two years, the need for expansion was clearly seen, and a 12,000 square foot addition was connected to the existing facility in 1975. For the next eleven years, the Stern Rubber Company family continued to grow, and hone in on their ability to master the process of custom rubber production. Yet in 1986, Donovan Stern decided to retire, and the company was purchased by American Rubber Products, and would operate under this name until 1992, when Terrel Stern purchased the company back. That year, two new Stern Rubber team members were also added, Bonnie Gastecki and Bob Jackson, who are still part of the Stern Rubber family today.
As Stern Rubber continued to grow, in 1997 the Company added its Aitkin division, when they began leasing an incubator building in downtown Aitkin, Minnesota. As the century turned, Stern continued to hold strong and in 2002, the operations in Aitkin were moved to a new 10,000 square foot building in the Aitkin Industrial Park. Over the next ten years, Stern continued to grow and change, and in 2011, the company added two rubber extrusion lines and a third facility, adjacent to the existing main Staples location.
In recent times Stern has added a 12,000 square foot addition to the main facility that was built to increase warehouse space, house the trimming and deflashing departments, as well as new offices. Yet the most recent change coming to Stern Rubber, was the purchase of the company by Zhongli Corporation. This big change, adds a lot of potential to Sterns already established capabilities.
Over the years Stern Rubber has encountered many changes, yet one thing that hasn’t changed is the family like atmosphere within the company. Since 1969 Stern has valued quality production, on time delivery, and most of all our customers and team members.
From all of us here at Stern, we would like to wish you a Happy Holiday from our Family to yours!
Snowmobiling: Minnesota’s High Flying Pass Time
As the bitter cold of mid December sets in here in northern Minnesota, many begin to wonder what we Minnesotans do to pass the time. Well, there is ice fishing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and the most popular, snowmobiling. Minnesota has over 22,000 miles of groomed and maintained trails that join to form a super highway that carves through beautiful forests, stunning lakes and many of the other unseen masterpieces of Minnesota’s landscape, located right in Stern Rubber’s back yard.
These machines that carve through the snow have a long legacy in Minnesota, and one of Stern’s customers, Polaris, played a major role in introducing these machines to the world. In 1954, Edgar Hetteen and Allan Hetteen were partners in the Hetteen Hoist and Derrick shop in Roseau, Minnesota. Their employees, David Johnson, Paul Knochenmus and Orlen Johnson, while on a hunting trip, took a grain silo conveyor belt and an old Chevy bumper and developed a machine that could float through the snow to their desired hunting locations. Yet upon returning from the trip and presenting their machine to Edgar, he was very skeptical of this product, and had the men sell the machine for $465, in order to meet company payroll.
Although the idea was not completely accepted, the employees continued to build snowmobiles, and in 1956 the Polaris Sno Traveler was the first production model to roll off the assembly line. This original model weighed close to 1000 pounds, and moved at speeds of about 20 mph. Following this stunning new machine, many other companies began developing snowmobiles and in the 1960’s, Polaris began to develop a much smaller and lighter consumer sized sled to compete with Skidoo. In 1965, Polaris released its new Mustang which offered a lighter, front end based engine, and a compact body style. This sled became a big hit as a family snowmobile and boosted Polaris’s sales.
Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, Polaris continued to develop machines similar to their 1965 model, which sprung them to the top of the snowmobile industry. As time progressed, so did the ideas and technology at Polaris, in the early 80’s the company began creating a new “Indy” style snowmobile, which offered an independent front suspension, and a wider stance. This style of sled would continue through the 1990’s, including the Indy Storm, Ultra and Trail lines. By the late 1990’s, the company had introduced a new style of sled in which they called the Rocky Mountain King(RMK) which was a specific mountain based all terrain sled, that is still manufactured today. Since the turn of the century, Polaris has continued to introduce new, and improved snowmobiles including the IQ, and the Rush which is very similar to their line today. Although Polaris is known for their snowmobiles, they are so much more than that. The company produces many other recreation vehicles including Victory and Indian motorcycles, ATV’s, and side by sides.
Today, snowmobiling is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet not just the production of the machines, but the resorts, the restaurants, and gas stations all flourish when the snow flies and the riders hit the trail for a fun day in the outdoors. Without a small farm repair company in Roseau, Minnesota, named Hetteen Hoist and Derrick (Polaris) introducing us all to the snowmobile industry and revolutionizing the recreational vehicle world, we all may spend our free time much differently.
New Capabilities
The recent acquisition of Stern Rubber Company by Zhongli Corporation is going to add many capabilities to Stern Rubber over the coming years. Zhongli is an automotive supplier that designs, develops, tests and manufactures powertrain mounts, chassis components, suspension assemblies, and plastic parts. Stern Rubber Company will be expanding into some of these areas, and the first priority will be powertrain mounts and chassis components.
Some of the powertrain mounts that Zhongli currently produces are gearbox mounts, engine mounts, and anti-torsion bars. Some of the chassis components will include top mounts, suspension bushings, and spring isolators.Â
Zhongli North America in Troy, Michigan currently designs, develops and tests these types of products, but they are currently manufactured in China. Going forward, new projects will continue to be designed and tested in Michigan, but will be produced at the Staples, MN facility. We will be also adding testing capabilities in Staples, to test parts as they are manufactured. The acquisition has given Stern Rubber immediate access to the design and testing capabilities in Michigan.
Zhongli North Americaâ current testing equipment include a MTS 831 for doing testing up to 1000 Hz, and two MTS 832âs for doing multi-axis fatigue testing. This equipment is available for Stern Rubber to use immediately, and will eventually be added to the Staples facility. This test equipment will allow Stern Rubber to expand its offerings in vibration dampening projects.
Zhongli Corporation uses highly automated manufacturing processes in its manufacturing facilities in China. This high level of automation will be added to Stern Rubber. This automation will be used for future automotive projects, as well as for current customers and projects. The first automated equipment that will be installed in Staples will be for metal preparation, and bonding agent application.
Zhongli Corporation also has a much more automated milling process to produce rubber. They have automated weighing equipment for the ingredients, mix rubber on an internal mixer, and have a full batch off unit for prepping the material for the molding process. The long term plan will be to upgrade the Staples facility to have similar capabilities.
It will be exciting to see all the improvements and added capabilities that will be added in the upcoming years. If you have a project that Stern Rubber can help with, please click here to send over the information.
Deer Hunting
There are many traditions throughout the country including Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. Yet in the state of Minnesota, there is one family tradition that gets many people out of bed at the crack of dawn and headed into the woods. Of course, that tradition is whitetail deer hunting. Whether it is bow, rifle or muzzle loader season, the thrill of opening day lies within many Minnesotans. Every year over 500,000 hunters head to the woods to try and claim a trophy buck. Yet hunting is so much more to the people who do it, than just shooting something.
Hunting in Minnesota has been around for over 150 years. With the state being founded in 1858, the first years of whitetail hunting were of course for gathering food for the family. Yet as years went on and the century turned, deer hunting became more of a recreational sport. In the 1960’s and 70’s, the deer in Minnesota were not doing very well and the DNR was not closely regulating the harvest, allowing for hunters to take several deer. In 1971, that would all change when the DNR realized that the population had collapsed and they closed the season entirely. As the season was closed, the DNR held meetings to figure out what they could do to allow for a hunting season to still exist, while also properly managing the deer. Well as time went on, the ideas of creating zones and managing based on population per area, came into play. By the late 1980’s and early 90’s, the system that is still used in Minnesota today was developed. This new form of management developed by the DNR kept an eye on the amount of antlered and antlerless deer taken out of a given area, as well as the weather conditions in the area effecting the herd as well. Today, DNR and hunters work together to ensure that the popular sport can continue to go on.
Yet with all this change, one aspect of hunting has always remained the same. The opportunity to spend time with family and friends is something that is second to none with hunting. Every season offers the opportunity for generation after generation to get together and tell their old hunting stories, sitting around the table playing cards and being together, teaching the next generation the value of the sport. That is what hunting is all about, building relationships, having fun, enjoying the outdoors and one another, and if by chance one shoots a deer, that is just a bonus.
Unlike any other product, polyurethane is a unique material that offers the elasticity of rubber, combined with the durability of metal. Polyurethane is a polymer composed of organic units joined by a carbamate link. With a broad range of hardness, urethane can range from as soft as an eraser to as hard as a bowling ball.
First developed in 1937 by Otto Bayer and his coworkers at IG Farben in Leverkusen Germany, this new polymer had some advantages over existing materials of the time. Bayer’s early work focused on the production of fibers, and flexible foams, which were applied as aircraft coating during World War II. Following this early development, soon many other major chemical companies began to work to develop their own versions of this revolutionary material. In 1956, DuPont introduced polyether polyols, this new material was cheaper, easier to handle and more water resistant than previously used polyester polyols. By 1960, over 45,000 metric tons of polyurethane foam was being produced each year, the superior qualities of this product allowed it to be used as high performance insulation, and by 1967 modified polyurethane based foams were introduced, offering even better thermal stability and flammability resistance, making it ideal for the automobile industry. Speaking of the automobile industry, in 1969 Bayer would use his polyurethane to create an all plastic car, yet not just a car came out of his idea. Bayer also developed reacting injection molding. This new manufacturing process would become almost as popular as the material he developed. And his plastic car idea would later be used as the model for the Pontiac Fiero in 1983.
The excellent qualities of polyurethane make it the superior product it is known for. First off, polyurethane is very abrasion resistant, and will often outwear other materials by a factor of 50 to 1, when severe abrasion is a factor. Along with that, the material is also very tear resistant, with a tear strength ranging between 100-500 lbs/linear inch. On top of its abrasion resistance and tear strength, polyurethane also has a high flex life and is also great for electrical insulation.
Today, polyurethane is used in many different applications including high-resilience foam seating, microcellular foam seals and gaskets, durable elastomeric wheels and tires, for things such as roller coasters, escalators and skateboards. Polyurethane is also used in automotive suspension bushings, electrical potting compounds, surface coatings and sealants, high performance adhesive as well as synthetic fibers used in clothing, such as spandex.
Here at Stern Rubber, we put urethane to good use through two different kinds of molding. The most commonly used is thermoset urethane. This process is like any other type of rubber molding, in which it goes through a curing process with a great deal of pressure, and high temperature. This form of material is typically chosen for situations where the rubber needs to be stronger than average. This type of material is used to produce some very specialized parts, including high strength tie rod boots for the military, specialty seals for light fixtures, and high strength motor mounts. Along with thermoset urethane, we also use another form called cast urethane. This material is a two part liquid that is mixed together and then either poured or injected into a tool. After the material is inserted into the tool, we put the molds into the oven overnight and unload the next day. The particular types of cast urethane that we use, cure very slowly, and results in producing only one part per day, so is only used for very low volume products. Here at Stern, this is primarily used to produce seals for leak test machines that test aluminum casting.
Now, although this type of material is very effective, we also use many other types of rubber to produce our products. So, remember, Stern Rubber is always available to help with your material selection. Check out the engineering resources section for more information on materials, which includes a material selection guide.
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