The Minnesota House Small Business Caucus visited some of the small businesses in the Monticello area today. Our first stop was at iRT (Integrated Recycling Technologies, Inc.), a company that does a remarkable job of recycling electronic scrap and catalytic converters. This is a Minnesota company that works on a global basis.
Next was umc (Ultra Machining Company), a precision manufacturing company that has clients in the medical, aerospace, defense, commercial, and energy fields. Their new facility is modern and has state of the art equipment that allows them to make very precise products. It was started in 1968 in the founder’s garage.
We had lunch at the Cornerstone Café in Monticello. The restaurant was recently remodeled and has an extensive menu. I highly recommend the Wild Rice Soup! Catering is also part of their operation. In preparation for Halloween, the posts outside the restaurant have some decorative characters attached.
Our final visit was the Shangri La Nook in the Albertville Outlets. This shop has many items made in Nepal and other countries in Asia. Lots of clothing items, but also some interesting jewelry as well.
We had the opportunity to meet some very resourceful people who are quite passionate about their work. In addition to learning about the businesses, we were also asking what problems they were encountering.