Crysteel Truck Equipment the First 50 years
November 1, 1974 was the first day of existence for what was named at that time Crysteel Distributing Inc. Eldon and Helen Jones the founders of Crysteel Manufacturing Inc. started the new company to distribute, install and service their manufactured products along with truck equipment manufactured by others, in Minnesota and upper Iowa. Eldon and Helen felt that by starting the new company, Crysteel Mfg. who had been selling to primarily farmers and installing grain truck bodies, hoist, and tag axles to the southern Minnesota market, could concentrate on manufacturing and better serve all their distributors through-out the country.
Crysteel Mfg. employees Glen Wiens and Gordon Methus joined Eldon and Helen as partners in the new venture. Ted Nibbe a truck salesman for Clements Chevrolet joined the new company and was also one of the first partners. Crysteel Manufacturing employees who moved over to the new business were Mary Williams, Kelvin "Bear" Olson. Gary Thompson, Doug Frederickson, Dave Roberts, Clarence Schultz, and Lynnis Von Ohlen. High schoolers Myron Sandstrom and Scott Johnson who worked part-time moved over to the new business from Crysteel Manufacturing also. The new venture started in a new 6480 sq. ft. building on a five-acre parcel east of the Crysteel Manufacturing facility.
Ted Nibbe was the Manager and Lynnis Von Ohlen the salesperson. Larry Brandenburg joined the staff in January 1975 as an outside salesperson traveling to western Minnesota and Iowa. The new business primarily sold and installed grain bodies and hoist on trucks for farmers and related agri-businesses.
The new business venture grew rapidly due to a good farm economy in the 1970's, new quality products to sell, and a hard-working determined staff. In 1976, the United States Bi-Centennial year, an expansion was finished, more than doubling the size of the original building to more than 15,000 square feet. A much-needed paint booth was installed in the new addition because of the custom diamond style paint jobs on the new Crysteel grain bodies became an iconic feature. The office, show room, and parts room were doubled in size with a full upstairs over these areas for more storage. The building expansion was very welcomed as sales were increasing rapidly every year due to the introduction of new products, good demand, and an increase in market share.
1976 also found Farmfest the Bi-Centennial Salute to agriculture, a week-long exposition, held on a site west of Lake Crystal in September. Crysteel had a major display at this event. The summer of 1976 was very dry, but the day the show started it began raining and it rained most every day and mud became a major issue, but people from all over the country still came to see one of the largest agricultural exhibitions ever held.
Ted Nibbe left the company in1977 and Glen Wiens moved over from Crysteel Mfg. to be the General Manager of Crysteel Distributing Inc. Lynnis Von Ohlen and Larry Brandenburg bought in as partners of the company in October 1977.
In 1978 another expansion was begun and finished giving the company over 19,500 sq. ft. of shop and office space. A 40' Bee-Line frame straightening, and truck alignment rack was installed. to service and repair wrecked heavy duty trucks. Research had shown there was not another facility between Minneapolis and Brookings SD that had the equipment to straighten truck frames at that time. Diversification of the products and services was seen as a must to keep the growth of the company on pace into the future.
Gordon Methus the Company Controller of both Crysteel Manufacturing Inc. and Crysteel Distributing Inc. retired from the company in 1979.
The economy was in a very poor condition in the early 1980's with interest rates reaching 20 percent. The agricultural community was hit very hard with these interest rates plus the grain embargo put in place on grain sales to the Soviet Union caused the grain markets to tank. Just like the agricultural community the company saw a definite need to diversify by pursuing the municipal dump truck and snow and ice control equipment market as well as commercial dump and service truck market. Snowplows and ice control equipment lines for light duty trucks was acquired and marketed These new lines of equipment, marketing to municipal and commercial truck users, along with the frame rack repair services and hard work and perseverance brought the company through the early 1980's. Larry Brandenburg became the Sales Manager during this period.
Lynnis Von Ohlen left the company in 1985. Robert Chicos and Jeff Hippert parts and shop personnel became the outside sale team calling on dealers and end users.
The Twin City market was also something Crysteel Distributing was also pursuing during the 1980's but Lake Crystal's distance from that area was a constant hurdle. A sales office was first established in Crystal. Then an office and one shop bay were rented from Hydraulic Specialties in Fridley, soon after a second bay was rented from them. This set up worked for a while but by the late 1980's it was clear that more space was needed. Hydraulic Specialties had a vacant lot on the north side of their building that bordered 73rd Ave. just off Hwy 65 in Fridley. It was decided to purchase this lot and construct a new facility on it. In 1989 a wonderful new 8000 Sq. Ft. Pre-Cast facility was built with six bays, a bridge crane and two gantry cranes, parts room with upstairs storage, and an office/showroom.
By this time light duty truck snowplows had become an important part of the business and the company sold straight blade plows manufactured by Western Products, trip-edge Belt Drive pump plows by Fisher Engineering. The 1991 Halloween blizzard brought a huge surge in business and established the need to really pursue the pre-season market to help level off the surges brought on by major snowfalls. The Boss Snowplow Company re-engineered and perfected the multi-position V-plow and Crysteel began selling it also. The three brands of snowplows gave Crysteel total coverage of the snowplow offerings in the light and medium duty truck snowplow market.
The 1990's were a period of steady sales growth due to the diversification of products and services offered by Crysteel Distributing Inc. and the opening of the new facility in Fridley, MN, a northern Twin Cities suburb. The first years of the new Fridley location found Glen and Larry working at different times each week at the new store. The Fridley location did not have paint facilities so the truck bodies that had been installed on the chassis in Fridley were driven to Lake Crystal to be painted. Due to the need to move products and trucks back and forth it was decided to haul those trucks that could be hauled along with inventory. Most of the large inventory was stocked in Lake Crystal and hauled to Fridley as needed, besides small trailers behind Glen or Larry's pickups, a Ford F350 diesel flatbed and a goose neck trailer were used at first. Soon it was determined that to do the job safer, more efficiently, and to haul larger trucks back and forth along with inventory a tractor-trailer was needed. A new 1993 International 9200 semi-truck was purchased along with a new 48' Lando II tilt bed semi-trailer. This tilt bed semi-trailer with the hydraulic winch also made it possible to haul wrecked and disabled trucks to the shop.
The snowplow and ice control business kept growing and more warehouse space was needed.to stock the pre-season plow inventory and other inventory that needed inside storage. Cold storage facilities were built onto the existing building in Lake Crystal. Additional warehouse space was rented next door to the Fridley location from the Hydraulic Specialties and Detterman Companies. A fenced in lot across the street from the Fridley location with a two-bay storage facility was purchased to park trucks and to store equipment.
On June 15, 1995 James Sinclair, the manager of the Fridley store died unexpectantly at the age of 49. Jim had come to Crysteel from The La Hass Truck Equipment Company in Eagen after it was closed by the holding company ownership. With the help of Jim, Crysteel bought the remaining snowplow and parts inventory from the La Hass Co. Jim was a hard-working, all-around good guy and was dearly missed. Either Glen or Larry spent 4 days each week at the Fridley store until Ray Gunderson, a long time Chevrolet truck sales manager, was hired. Ray was well versed in computer technology and brought many new innovative ideas to the company.
In August of 1995 a major change to the ownership of Crysteel Distributing Inc. took place. Larry Brandenburg and Glen Wiens became the sole owners of the company. Eldon and Helen Jones, the founders of the business and partners with Brandenburg and Wiens sold their stock to the Company. At this time the ownership of Crysteel Distributing Inc. and Crysteel Manufacturing Inc. become totally separate. Sometime after the sale a new duly registered name of Crysteel Truck Equipment Inc. was given to the company to better reflect the nature of the business in the official name.
1997 brought an exciting change for Crysteel Truck Equipment in Lake Crystal, 6 more acres were acquired giving a total of 11.5 acres of yard space. A new 14,100 square foot 25' tall precast building had been constructed to house the body shop and frame alignment equipment. The 40' Bee-Line Frame straightening rack and front-end alignment machine was moved over from the main shop. A new 70' paint-bake booth that by closure of an interior door becomes two booths. Each booth was equipped with traveling manlifts. A 70' shotblasting booth was also installed with a media cleaning and recycling system. This equipment plus additional shop and office space was greatly appreciated. The pit left in the floor of the main building after the removal of the frame and alignment equipment was filled and a new concrete floor installed. With the removal of the old paint booth and frame rack five truck equipment installation bays were gained. Myron Sandstrom, a long-time employee, moved into the new building as manager of the facility.
The 25th Anniversary of the company was celebrated in 1999. The Mankato Civic Center was rented and a truck show was presented with approximately 30 trucks shown, all equipped with various truck bodies and equipment distributed by CTE. Seminars and lunch were provided for the guests. Annual sales had reached more than 21,000,000 annually.
Late 1999 also brought another expansion. The Monroe Truck Equipment facility in Lakeville, MN was leased and their inventory and equipment purchased, their employees were hired.
Ray Gunderson the Fridley Manager left the company in November 2000. Jim Wyatt the Fridley Shop Superintendent became the General Manager of the Fridley store in 2001.
The new Millennium brought a recession and a downturn in truck and equipment sales. That along with the expenses of operating the Lakeville location proved to be a real burden and that operation was closed. The early 2000's presented many challenges with a major recession, the 911 disaster, and the construction downturn. Sales for CTE stagnated during this period creating many business challenges.
The late 2000's found the truck equipment business improving. Adequate snowfalls and demand for new equipment created a boom in the snow and ice control equipment business. The Boss Snowplow Company became the premier snowplow manufacturer and offered plows to cover all aspects of the market. CTE become the sole distributor of the Boss plow in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, this along with CTE primarily solely selling the Boss plow and CTE's snow and ice control sub-distributor network led to record sales of Boss Snow and ice control equipment.
Crysteel Truck Equipment marketed the many different product lines over the years by several means. On the road salespeople have been a constant along with salespeople inside the offices. CTE published its own catalog of products and directly mailed them, distributed them at shows, and used them as a handout. Trade shows were used along with showing at the Minnesota State Fair every year since the Company has been in business. CTE has been on the same block at the fair all those years, starting out with a small lot on Cooper Street next to the Home Improvement Building, then moving to a larger lot on the other side of the block on Cosgrove Street and finally CTE was able to obtain the north end of this block with exposure on three streets. This lot has a building on it that was originally built by the Minneapolis Moline Farm Equipment Company. Well over 30 trucks equipped by CTE are shown along with parts and accessory items shown in the building. The Fair has become the kickoff for CTE's preseason snowplow sales with early season promotional programs featuring the Boss snowplow. Traditionally Boss Row has all the trucks facing Cooper Street equipped with different models of Boss Snow and Ice control equipment.
The State Fair along with a network of Sub-distributors, good marketing, and a very dedicated hard working CTE staff has made Crysteel Truck Equipment one of the top Boss snowplow distributors in the USA.
The Internet has become a very important tool used by CTE since approximately 2010. The Website and other marketing functions are managed by Chad Johnson. Used truck equipment and truck sales have been done across the country because of internet marketing as well as new truck bodies and equipment.
CTE experienced steady growth and successes after the early 2000's with well-established product lines, diversified shop services, and an experienced dedicated staff.
May 17, 2012, began a new chapter at Crysteel Truck Equipment. Glen Wiens and Larry Brandenburg sold the company to 5 of the CTE employees. Jim Wyatt was the new President, Chad Wens the Vice President, Myron Sandstrom the Secretary and Eddy Billman and Kyle Wens Board members as well as ex-facto members, Glen Wens and Larry Brandenburg.
Shop space in Fridley was of great concern. The Detterman Company, a next-door neighbor, had sold off their business but still had their shop building, CTE was able to lease this facility, a much needed shop plus additional yard space and could access it by simply taking down a fence between the properties.
A new 8640 sq. ft. cold storage building was built at the Lake Crystal site primarily to store Boss Snow and Ice Control Inventory. The parking lot and access road were repaved as well as new blacktop was laid in the area between the shops and other areas.
Another building became available on the Detterman property in Fridley, and it was decided to acquire it to house a new paint booth, mixing room, shot blasting booth, and shop space as well as warehouse, office space, and additional yard space. This eliminated the need to transport trucks to the Lake Crystal facility for paint and bodywork. The additional warehouse space was important because space that had been leased from another neighbor became unavailable because of that company's expansion.
Eldon D. Jones, a WWII veteran and the founder of Crysteel Manufacturing and Crysteel Truck Equipment ,inventor/designer of the Crysteel line of products passed away on December 8, 2015 at the age of 90.
President Jim Wyatt, retired from the company after more than 20 years, in June of 2019 and redeemed his stock to the company. Chad Wens was elected the new President. Daron Fromm Sales Manager at the Lake Crystal store bought the redeemed stock and become the Vice President of the Corporation. Cody Wyatt became the Manager of the Fridley store.
Sadly on August 11, 2023 Myron Sandstrom, Owner and Frame and Body shop Manager, lost his battle with cancer. Myron had been with the Company for over 50 years after starting work at Crysteel Mfg. while in high school before Crysteel Truck Equipment began.
Andy Long moved from the Installation Shop Superintendent position to take over Myron's position in the frame and body shop. Todd Wiens joined the company and became the shop superintendent in Lake Crystal. Todd and Cody Wyatt joined the ownership group in late 2023.
2023 was a phenomenal year for CTE with exceptional sales and a huge backlog of work. The workforce is at just under 100 people between the two stores.
As of October 31, 2024 Crysteel Truck Equipment Inc. completes 50 years of business. What a ride, now the next 50 years!!
History written by Larry Brandenburg