Kiger's Notebook

McNeilus closing Dexter plant

Here's an interesting piece by writer Laura Gossman. I remember when the Development Corp. of Austin built this plant in Dexter. I wonder what they will do with it now? I believe this project landed some state money also.

McNeilus Trucking and Manufacturing has announced that its plant in Dexter will be 

closing.

Parent company Oshkosh Corp. spokeswoman Ann Stawski said 24 employees will lose their jobs and four employees will be transferred to the plant in Dodge Center.

The plant in Dexter built concrete mixer drums, but the demand for those products has tapered in recent months.

"It's a continuation of the economy, and we had to adjust our production," Stawski said. "There's been a decrease in residential and commercial construction, and there's been the same downward trend for concrete materials."

The closing was announced to employees on Friday, but Stawski had no details on when employees will have their final day.

The Dexter plant was built by the Development Corp. of Austin in November 2002 with a loan from Mower County and was leased to Oshkosh Corp.

The Dodge Center plant also announced layoffs this month; 40 jobs were eliminated, and 125 people are being laid off for 60 days.

The company also had laid off 50 employees last February, with 20 of those jobs coming from the Dodge Center factory.

It's part of a trend across southeastern Minnesota. In the past six months, several other area companies have laid off employees.

Earlier this month, Herff-Jones announced it would close its photo lab and memory book location in Lewiston and eliminate hundreds of jobs. In December, Northern Engraving in Spring Grove announced it would close it 208-person factory. In August, TRW announced it would reduce it Winona work force by 100 employees. 

Federal-Mogul in Lake City is in the midst of layoffs, too. A complete number hasn't been released by the company.

Fastenal nails 4Q, year-end earnings despite lawsuit

Fastenal Co., the Winona-based nuts and bolts seller, nailed down its 4Q and year-end today betaing both IBM and Obama to the punch.

Remember, beside the well-known thrifty state senator Bob Kierlin, one of the co-founders of this workman-like juggernaut is Rochester's Jack Remick.

He is, of course, the owner of the Rochester Athletic Club and, as of the end of December, Clements Chevrolet.

Anyway, here's some raw snippets from the report:

Net sales for the three-month period ended December 31, 2008 totaled $544,959, an increase of 5.0% over net sales of $519,206 in the fourth quarter of 2007. Net earnings increased from $56,191 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $62,536 in the fourth quarter of 2008, an increase of 11.3%. Basic and diluted earnings per share increased from $.38 to $.42 for the comparable periods.

Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2008 totaled $2,340,425, an increase of 13.5% over net sales of $2,061,819 in 2007. Net earnings increased from $232,622 in 2007 to $279,705 in 2008, an increase of 20.2%. Basic and diluted earnings per share increased from $1.55 to $1.88 for the comparable periods. The third quarter of 2008 included a $10,000 legal settlement. This is discussed in greater detail later in this release. This settlement lowered our basic and diluted earnings per share by just over $0.03 for the year.

During 2008, Fastenal opened 161 new stores (Fastenal opened 161 new stores in 2007). The 161 new stores in 2008 represent an increase in stores of 7.5% from December 31, 2007. On December 31, 2008, Fastenal had 13,634 total employees, an increase of 13.5% from December 31, 2007.

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LEGAL SETTLEMENT:
On August 29, 2008 e announced that we had reached a preliminary agreement to settle a purported class action lawsuit relating to the classification of our Assistant General Managers as exempt for purposes of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania state statutes. This suit also alleged that Assistant General Managers in California did not receive sufficient meal breaks and paid rest periods under the California Labor Code. (Note: This case was originally reported on our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, filed on October 31, 2007.
While we deny the allegations underlying the lawsuit, we decided to enter into the settlement agreement in order to avoid significant legal fees, the uncertainty of a jury trial, distractions to our operations, and other expenses and management time that would have to be devoted to protracted litigation. The settlement, which is still subject to court approval, fully resolves all claims brought by the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Pursuant to the settlement, we will make a cash payment of $10 million to cover claims by eligible class members, plaintiff attorneys’ fees and costs, and payments to the named plaintiffs. The expense for this settlement was recorded in the results for the third quarter ending September 30, 20088. We do not expect the settlement to have any material impact on our operating results going forward.

Gas station news is ...?

Here's the deal. ConocoPhillips, you know the guys were in Rochester Thursday night talking about the future of energy, are pulling out Rochester and out Minnesota as of Aug. 3.

This includes Conoco, Phillips 66 and the 76 brand.

Use up those coupons and gas cards soon.

The pullout even goes beyond Minnesota. Other states are being abandoned also.

Look for all the details on this the weekend paper.

By the way, Trent said Conoco is going green. He was half right. Conoco is going. Heh.

Action at Lake Geo Plaza

It is back to Plan A for John Shaw.

Shaw, who built and owns the Lake Geo Travel Plaza in Dexter along Interstate 90, is back to the original plan he had in 2004 when he opened the center.

He now owns the restaurant and bar in the center as well as the gas station, convenience store and deli. In fact, it is easier to list the businesses that he does not own in the 15,000-square building.

That list consists of Farm Bureau Financial Services and Lake Geo Motors.

Until from September 2004 to this June, that list also including Die Bruders, the German steakhouse and bar that was owned by Joe, Pete and Chris Graves. Shaw had originally hired Chef Joe Graves to manage and cook at a restaurant in the center. Then Graves and his brothers talked him into letting them lease the space and open their own place.

When that operation closed down, Shaw stepped in and re-opened the Die Bruders’ bar as The Pit Stop Bar and Grill within a couple weeks. Then on July 19, the restaurant re-opened as the Lake Geo Supper Club. The two businesses take up about 5,000-square-feet of the center.

Shaw says the restaurant which seats about 150 people has 14 on staff. The Supper Club is open Wednesday through Sunday. It is managed by Chef Steve and Maryanne Shulze.

The Pit Stop Bar and Grill has six employees.

The center also has a banquet room that can seat more than 300 and has a large dance floor.
Taking on the restaurant and the bar has meant parking another project – an RV park – for the moment.

“That (the RV park built by the center) is on hold until the restaurant up and running well,” he says.
Meanwhile other parts of the operation – like the C-store and deli – are showing are showing signs of success.

“They keep growing and we’ve been adding employees there,” he said.

So now Shaw has a restaurant, bar, C-store, deli and gas station. However, he is still person who does most of the cleaning and maintenance at the center.

And that is according to plan.

Die Bruders Steakhaus closed

I popped into the Lake Geo Travel Plaza at 236 S. Main St., which is along I-90 at the Dexter exit , for a pop during my hot drive back to Rochester from Austin.

I strolled around a bit and noticed (it was impossible not to) that entrance to the the 7,000-square-foot Die Bruders Steakhaus closed with a big chain and padlock with a handwritten sign stuck to the chain that said, "Closed unitl further notice."

The nice young lady at the counter of the travel plaza says she doesn't know what happened, but she says that the travel plaza owner – John Shaw - says the restuarant will re-open soon under new management and a new name.

Shaw of Adams owns the 15,000-square-foot Lake Geo commercial center.