| A Brief Company History |
Toll Free: 1-800-280-3141
Email: info@goldnickel.com
Email: info@goldnickel.com
In the late 1930's, a small fishing tackle company was started on the shores
of Mille Lacs Lake in Isle, MN by Joe Fladebo. Mille Lacs Manufacturing soon
became famous for its wide assortment of fishing tackle and accessories. In
the early 1950's, a plating shop (Merit) was started a few blocks away by
Lloyd Paulsen to meet the metal finishing requirements of the rapidly
growing tackle manufacturer. Many of Mille Lacs Mafacturing's products
(Little Joe spinner blades, chain stringers, casting spoons, etc.) were plated
to improve their appearance and/or corrosion resistance.
Several other fishing tackle manufacturers also sent parts to Merit to have
them plated. Millions upon millions of tackle components and accessories
were plated in the ensuing years. If you are a fisherman, you would have
likely seen our plating on several famous lures including the Eppinger
Daredevle, Johnson Silver Minnow and Sprite, Doctor spoons, Hildebrandt
spinners, Hopkins spoons, Wapsi Flies, and too many other lures to list.
Mr. Paulsen later sold the plating shop to Joe's son Jim Fladebo, and Jim ran
both the plating shop and the tackle company for several years. In 1973,
Mille Lacs Manufacturing and Merit were acquired by the Ray-O-Vac battery
company. At that time, Ray-O-Vac also acquired the Lindy Tackle Company
and merged the three companies, forming the new Fishing Tackle Division
of Ray-O-Vac.
During this time, the plating facility was utilized to plate not only fishing
tackle components, but also battery components, especially button cells
commonly used in watches, hearing aids, and small electronics. Over the
decades, Merit has plated literally billions of battery components for
Ray-O-Vac, Duracell, Panasonic, Gould, and Saft. If you use a battery
powered watch or hearing aid, you almost certainly have seen parts that
have our plating on them.
In 1978, the Fishing Tackle Division was sold by Ray-O-Vac. The plating
business was purchased by the present owners (William Eye and Gordon
Haglund). The remainder of the division was purchased by a group of
investors led by Nick Adams. That company, now known as Lindy-Little Joe,
Inc. was moved to Brainerd, Minnesota in 1980.
Merit continued to grow during the 1980's and began to do more technical
types of plating for the demanding telecommunications and defense
industries. Investments in new technologies (such as x-ray fluoresence to
measure plating thicknesses) allowed us to assure our customers that their
very specific plating requirements were being met. We became very adept
at plating complex coating combinations of coatings while strictly adhering
to the appropriate plating specifications.
As we enter the new millennium, we are obsessed with continuing to deliver
world class finishing services on time to our customers. Let us demonstrate
our commitment to quality and on time delivery for you today. Give us a
call!
of Mille Lacs Lake in Isle, MN by Joe Fladebo. Mille Lacs Manufacturing soon
became famous for its wide assortment of fishing tackle and accessories. In
the early 1950's, a plating shop (Merit) was started a few blocks away by
Lloyd Paulsen to meet the metal finishing requirements of the rapidly
growing tackle manufacturer. Many of Mille Lacs Mafacturing's products
(Little Joe spinner blades, chain stringers, casting spoons, etc.) were plated
to improve their appearance and/or corrosion resistance.
Several other fishing tackle manufacturers also sent parts to Merit to have
them plated. Millions upon millions of tackle components and accessories
were plated in the ensuing years. If you are a fisherman, you would have
likely seen our plating on several famous lures including the Eppinger
Daredevle, Johnson Silver Minnow and Sprite, Doctor spoons, Hildebrandt
spinners, Hopkins spoons, Wapsi Flies, and too many other lures to list.
Mr. Paulsen later sold the plating shop to Joe's son Jim Fladebo, and Jim ran
both the plating shop and the tackle company for several years. In 1973,
Mille Lacs Manufacturing and Merit were acquired by the Ray-O-Vac battery
company. At that time, Ray-O-Vac also acquired the Lindy Tackle Company
and merged the three companies, forming the new Fishing Tackle Division
of Ray-O-Vac.
During this time, the plating facility was utilized to plate not only fishing
tackle components, but also battery components, especially button cells
commonly used in watches, hearing aids, and small electronics. Over the
decades, Merit has plated literally billions of battery components for
Ray-O-Vac, Duracell, Panasonic, Gould, and Saft. If you use a battery
powered watch or hearing aid, you almost certainly have seen parts that
have our plating on them.
In 1978, the Fishing Tackle Division was sold by Ray-O-Vac. The plating
business was purchased by the present owners (William Eye and Gordon
Haglund). The remainder of the division was purchased by a group of
investors led by Nick Adams. That company, now known as Lindy-Little Joe,
Inc. was moved to Brainerd, Minnesota in 1980.
Merit continued to grow during the 1980's and began to do more technical
types of plating for the demanding telecommunications and defense
industries. Investments in new technologies (such as x-ray fluoresence to
measure plating thicknesses) allowed us to assure our customers that their
very specific plating requirements were being met. We became very adept
at plating complex coating combinations of coatings while strictly adhering
to the appropriate plating specifications.
As we enter the new millennium, we are obsessed with continuing to deliver
world class finishing services on time to our customers. Let us demonstrate
our commitment to quality and on time delivery for you today. Give us a
call!
| Contact us and let us help you find a solution for your finishing needs! We are active in many professional organizations and we know a lot of platers all over the country, so if we can't plate it, we will gladly help you find someone who can! |
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