HIBBING – It’s a combination that in business is tough to beat.

Talented workers. High-tech equipment. A family work atmosphere. And strong local support.

Detroit Reman-DMR Electronics this week marked its 10th anniversary of success in producing new and remanufactured electronics components for the heavy duty equipment, truck, passenger vehicle, agriculture, transit, and rail industries.

IRRRB Commissioner Mark Phillips said the facility has grown to become a model of manufacturing on the Iron Range. 

“We try to use this facility almost as a poster child for economic development,” said Phillips.

In 1986, the company got its start in a garage in Hibbing under the leadership of local resident Hugh Vidovic.

“We had 3,000 square-feet and had 20 people running around in there,” said Vidovic. “It looked like an ant farm.”

Acquired in 2007 by Daimler, Detroit Diesel Reman-DMR Electronics today operates at a state-of-the-art 60,000 square-foot production facility near Range Regional Airport. It employs 132.

IRRRB has supported equipment acquisition and building expansions.

“Without the support we have here, this would not be possible,” Sanjiv Khurana, president of Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing LLC, said at the anniversary celebration.  “And without you, the employees, this is not possible.”

Everything in today’s world depends on electronics, said Vidovic. 

“This is world class,” Vidovic said of the Hibbing facility. “You have the equipment here, you have the talent and you have the support. It brings a lot of opportunity to the area to have a business like this here.”

Pictured above: David Rhode, Detroit Reman-DMR Electronics plant operations manager, explains new revenue streams for the facility. 

HIBBING –The superstar employees at Minnesota Diversified Industries are getting a super new facility.

Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI) is beginning construction on a new $5 million, 35,000 square-foot manufacturing facility just west of Range Regional Airport. 

“MDI’s Hibbing employees are superstars,” said Peter McDermott, MDI president and chief operating officer. “They are hardworking, eager to learn, proud of their accomplishments, and deserve first class working conditions.”

MDI’s vision is to provide meaningful employment to people with and without disabilities.

Since 1992, MDI’s Hibbing operations have been operating out of the former Greyhound bus station in downtown Hibbing, employing 83.

The new facility, projected to be open in January 2018, will create an additional 100 jobs.

The new building will provide improved working conditions, room to expand lines of business, better production layout, increased warehouse space and the newest in lighting, heating and cooling efficiencies, said McDermott.

MDI, which also operates facilities in Cohasset, Grand Rapids and the Twin Cities, manufactures plastic totes and trays. 

IRRRB is supporting construction with a $1 million loan to MDI and a $350,000 infrastructure development grant to the city of Hibbing. 

“This new building will give MDI employees and the city of Hibbing a real shot in the arm,” said McDermott.

Pictured above: Peter McDermott (right), MDI president and chief operating officer, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new manufacturing center in Hibbing, as Representative Julie Sandstede and Senator David Tomassoni look on. 

The contribution of Minnesota’s Iron Range to the region, state and nation is being celebrated in Twin Cities Business magazine and the Duluth News Tribune.

“The Iron Range – The times they are a changin’…” is a 16-page special section that tells the story of how mining has become a highly technical industry and details the success of local world-class vendors and manufacturers that produce goods and services for the region, state and nation. Development of the region’s talent pipeline and a highly-successful Iron Range customer engagement industry are also highlighted.

Produced by Twin Cities Business, the section was released May 22 in Twin Cities Business and May 28 in the Duluth News Tribune.

The Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce, Laurentian Chamber of Commerce, ALLETE/Minnesota Power, Arcelor Mittal, Cliffs Natural Resources, Iron Mining Association,  Iron Range Engineering, Iron Range Tourism Bureau, Mining Minnesota, PolyMet Mining and IRRRB supported production of the special section. 

Pictured above: Successful women in mining featured in the special section are Jaime Johnson of ArcelorMittal, LaTisha Gietzen of PolyMet Mining, Tasha Niemi of Cliffs Natural Resources and Christine Kennedy of Iron Range Engineering. 

BIWABIK – Feel like climbing the wall?

A 32-foot tall climbing wall, the only of its kind in northeastern Minnesota, is open to the public at Giants Ridge.

Made of concrete molded from real rock wall outcroppings, the wall offers climbers six different routes to the top. 

“It’s geared toward beginners, but if you are an avid climber, you’re still going to have fun,” said Benji Neff, Giants Ridge director of mountain sports. “The routes range from beginner to advanced.”

Constructed by St. Paul-based Nicros Inc., it’s the first public climbing wall on the Iron Range and only the second of its kind in the state, said Neff.

The wall is open for climbing from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., each Thursday through Sunday. A single climb is $7. A day pass is $20. Through June, a “Buy One Climb, Get One Free” is being offered.

A helmet and harness are included in the price. Climbing shoes and chalk bags are available for rent.

Climbers must register at the Giants Ridge chalet gift shop. 

“So far everyone who’s climbed it has had a lot of fun,” said Neff. “The biggest thing is that it’s something additional for a family to do when they visit Giants Ridge.”

Giants Ridge also features two championship caliber 18-hole golf courses, bicycle and hiking trails, water sports, a children’s play area, dining, spa treatments, alpine and Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing, snowboarding, and access to thousands of miles of snowmobile trails, and lodging. A mountain bike trail system is in development.

Get additional information.

Hibbing Daily Tribune

HIBBING — A survey conducted by a certified consulting organization has determined that there’s increased optimism among manufacturers throughout Minnesota about the economy and their projections of revenue and profitability.

Enterprise Minnesota discussed the results of The State of Manufacturing 2017 survey in front of representatives from more than a dozen manufacturers from the northeast region Thursday at Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing in Hibbing. This is the ninth annual survey, and it included telephone interviews with 400 manufacturing executives.

Nearly 60 percent of the interviewees said they’re “very confident” about the future of their company, said Bob Kill, president of Enterprise Minnesota. That’s up from 43 percent in 2016.

“This was a really fun year to do this. There was lots of optimism,” he said. “The things we’re hearing are really pretty engaging. A career in manufacturing really is kind of regentrified after a generation of being told it’s going away.”

Read the full Hibbing Daily Tribune article.

Pictured above: Representatives from regional manufacturers attend Enterprise Minnesota's State of Manufacturing event in Hibbing on June 8.