Addition to primary business may lead to more jobs
By SCOTT DOANE, Staff Writer
Larson Boats may be adding some potential new products that may add job opportunities for the area.
A shipping container the U.S. Army is looking at developing, is one of the new ventures for Larson Boats. The container could have multiple uses, Larson Boats president Al Kuebelbeck said.
Roughly a 10 foot cube that can interlock and house people, the containers can include a bathroom, kitchen, living room and other areas, Kuebelbeck said. They also can stand alone and be shipping units that are equipped with computer chips that track them by satellite.
“This is something that has some real good potential,” Kuebelbeck said. “There could be some residuals that could benefit Little Falls.”
The containers are built using the Virtual Engineered Composite (VEC) closed molding technology, which is controlled by computers and creates precise parts. This is unique to Larson Boats and the Little Falls area, and some components could be built here.
“Anything that you can add in addition to our primary business would add job opportunities,” Kuebelbeck said.
The prototypes are being worked on by the U.S. Army, the National Guard Bureau and Federal Emergency Management Agency as emergency shelters, Kuebelbeck said.
“They’re still in the process, but it looks very promising,” Kuebelbeck said. “The feedback has been positive. Like anything else, it’s a long process to get the necessary approval.”
This adds some more optimistic news for the company, which had 232 workers return to work in June. Triumph Boats will add to that as well, when it opens near the end of September.
Construction on the Triumph Boats facility is complete, and the next few weeks will be spent training employees, Kuebelbeck said. They hope to have 15 to 20 employees when the plant opens.
Even with these new projects, the growth of the company is based on the economy, Kuebelbeck said.
“I think we’re going to grow our business as best we can,” he said. “I hope people will still recreate, but they’re going to need some money to buy products.”
