by April Scheinoha
Editor
Manufacturers were honored Thursday, Oct. 30 during the annual Manufacturers’ Breakfast in Thief River Falls.
“This breakfast today is about celebrating you and the impact you make,” said James Whirlwind Soldier with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Nine manufacturers were recognized at the event, including Arctic Cat, DigiKey, Ericco Manufacturing, Kraus-Anderson Construction, Machinewell Inc., Mattracks Inc., Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation, Minnkota Power Cooperative and Northern Woodwork Inc.
The Thief River Falls Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Advance Thief River hosted the event at Arctic Cat. During the event, Mayor Mike Lorenson proclaimed Thursday, Oct. 30 as Manufacturing Day in the city.
More than 8,500 manufacturers create products in Minnesota, according to Chet Bodin with DEED. In northwest Minnesota, manufacturing accounts for 13% of jobs. The average manufacturing annual salary is $66,000, and manufacturing wages grew more than 25% from 2019 to 2024. Bodin, who is DEED’s business development manager for northwest Minnesota, noted there are many programs available through DEED to assist manufacturers and other businesses in their operations.
Manufacturing has a huge impact on the area economy, a fact not lost on those attending the breakfast. After all, the event was held at Arctic Cat, which was in danger of shuttering earlier this year. Lorenson heard about that possibility shortly after being elected mayor. He said he was tempted to call the former mayor and say he didn’t want to be mayor anymore. The Thief River Falls City Council then commissioned a study by the University of Minnesota, which found the closure of Arctic Cat would have had a catastrophic economic impact on the area.
A few potential new owners communicated with Sen. Mark Johnson. One said that the company would look a little different and manufacture appliances if it took over ownership of Arctic Cat. Johnson recalled that his heart sank. “That is not the heart of what Arctic Cat is,” he said.
All of those fears disappeared April 24. At that time, a new ownership group purchased Arctic Cat from Textron. “It’s almost like a 62-year-old startup company,” said Rick Trontvet, vice president of human resources at Arctic Cat.
Shortly after the company was sold, Arctic Cat launched a snowmobile and off-road sales program. “We were really surprised and pleased with the sales orders we received,” said Dan Johnson, vice president of operations.
The Wildcat XX came off the production line this summer. The snowmobile product line then started to move forward producing the Kitty Cat youth snowmobile. Arctic Cat continues to focus on new product development.
Since the ownership change, Arctic Cat has been adding staff. Trontvet noted that Textron had absorbed many corporate jobs formerly housed in Thief River Falls. Besides hiring for those positions, Arctic Cat has 70 more production employees now than it had in Thief River Falls as of Aug. 1. More employees have also been added at Arctic Cat’s engine facility in St. Cloud.
Dan Johnson thanked the community for its support, noting that Arctic Cat wouldn’t be here without it.
Rep. John Burkel noted that it’s important for people to band together. He said, “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together as rural communities.”