The Economic Development Authority (EDA) visited Die Technology, Inc. (Die Tech) and Nanotech Precision (Nanotech), located at 12925 42nd St NE, Suite 100/200. Human Resource Manager James Dolan gave a tour of the facilities.

Die Tech is a high precision machining company and an innovator in tool and die manufacturing, supporting complex, tolerance-critical applications. They design and build precision stamping dies, tools, and fixtures, and offer a full range of precision machining services.

Nanotech Precision is a micro component manufacturer that provides research and development support and focuses on innovation in high-volume micro component manufacturing.

Die Tech and Nanotech operate in separate facilities under the same roof. Die Tech manufactures micron precision dies, tools, and fixtures, while Nanotech manufactures micro components with micro features at high volumes, often utilizing fixtures that have been developed by Die Tech. Both organizations focus on continuous innovation and improvements in people and technology.

Die Tech employs 27 full-time and two part-time staff, while Nanotech employs 41 full-time and one part-time staff. The organizations have hosted many robotics teams as well as the CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) class from the St. Michael-Albertville high school in the past, and in some cases have brought on interns following those tours. On average, the two organizations hire two to three employees per year. 

History

1988 | Die Technology was established in Maple Grove, MN.

1998 | Die Technology moved from Maple Grove to Osseo, doubling square footage.

2014 | Acquisition of Custom Jig Grinding.

2019 | Separation of Die Technology, Inc. and Nanotech Precision, LLC.

2021 | Die Technology and Nanotech Precision move from Osseo to newly constructed 30,000-square-foot facility in St. Michael.

For more information about Die Technology, visit dietechnology.com

For more information on Nanotech Precision, visit nanotechmn.com

The Economic Development Authority (EDA) had the pleasure of meeting two people, whose love of music created the Sound House, a local music school located at 601 Central Ave. W, Suite 103, St. Michael. Sound House owner Tiffini Ventura and Director Justin Bazzani gave the EDA a tour of their facility that opened in October 2023.

Ventura and Bazzani’s goal is to inspire and educate the next generation of musicians. They accomplish that by providing music, voice, and group lessons to students of all ages and skill levels.

Sound House employs one full-time employee (Director), the owner, and currently have 14 to 15 contracted music teachers. The school is made up of 12 rooms for music lessons, a large open lounge area where they occasionally hold student recitals and performances, and a waiting area that includes some toddler-friendly musical toys.

Services include:

• Individual piano, voice, drum, guitar, and bass lessons
• Buddy lessons where students close in age who are learning the same instrument receive introduction at the same time
• Kindermusik™ Classes for newborns through age 7

They also support the musical stylings of four student rock bands, some of which have performed at Family Night in the Park and at the Daze & Knights Festival.

Hours of operation are Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m., and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For more information about Sound House, visit soundhousemn.com.

On Dec. 3, 2025, the Economic Development Authority visited B&D Plumbing, Heating, & A/C which is now located at 12821 44th Court NE, Suite 100. Vice Presidents Claire Cullinan and Kevin Daleiden gave a tour of their new larger facility that they moved into in April 2025. They use the remainder of the 60,000 SF building, which includes a mezzanine area.

B&D is one of the top employers in the City of St. Michael. The staff consists of 128 full-time and one part-time employee, with approximately 40 employees in the office. They have 85 vehicles in their fleet. The company serves clients in residential new construction, commercial construction, home remodels, and service calls.

Their facility houses:

• A truck loading/staging area
• A metal fabrication shop
• An expanded warehouse space
• A lunch/meeting room combo
• Several conference rooms
• A contractor showroom

For more information about B&D Plumbing, Heating & A/C, visit bdplumbers.com

On Dec. 3, 2025, the Economic Development Authority visited Backhand Brew, which is located at 12821 44th Court NE, Suite 300. Owners Jaeden Brumm and Aaron Sarvey gave a tour of the facility and explained how the concept was born. Brumm and Sarvey are neighbors and shared their desire to own and operate their own business (Brumm – Coffee Shop, Sarvey – Pickleball Facility). They joined forces, combined both their passions, and opened Backhand Brew the previous Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.

Backhand Brew Notable Items

• Employ five full-time employees and two part-time employees.
• Hours of operation are every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the busiest time block being 4 to 10 p.m. Hours may be adjusted in the future based on demand.
• Four pickleball courts. Serving up to 20 players at a time (16 on the court and four in staging, awaiting the next game).
• Have a sit-down dining area.
• Have a lounging space with a TV, fireplace, and oversized couch.
• Offer three monthly membership tiers.
• Have merchandise, coffee, and food items for sale.
• Have a ball-throwing machine that can be rented to practice hitting returns.
• Access to a Pickleball Coach.

For more information on Backhand Brew, visit backhandbrew.com

On Aug. 27, 2025, the Economic Development Authority visited Due North Car Wash at 445 Central Ave. E.

Jessica and Cory Kampschroer, owners, provided a tour and shared how the company is using cutting edge technology and processes to use significantly less fresh water than most car washes.

For more information about Due North Car Wash, visit duenorthwash.com.

On July 23, 2025, the EDA visited Cash-Wise Liquor, located at 308 Central Ave. E. Store Manager Svetlana Gunderson gave a tour of the facility and discussed their recent 5,000 square-foot expansion, bringing the store's total square footage to 20,000. The store remained open for business during the entirety of the construction process. They celebrated the completion of the project with a ribbon-cutting on June 30, 2025.

Notable changes:

• 493 new items were added throughout the store.
• Increased offering of high-end spirits.
• Expansion of the THC drink section from 48 to 98 linear feet and the addition of a refrigerated section.
• A permanent, prominent sampling island that hosts tastings at least three times a week.

The store employs four full-time and nine part-time staff. They receive product deliveries daily to accommodate the one deliver dock at the back of the store and minimize backstock and storage space needs.

For more information about Cash-Wise Liquors, visit cashwise.com/CWstore7043.

On June 25, 2025, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) visited the Village at Town Center Apartments, located at 11811 Frankfort Parkway NE.

Property Managers Charlotte Naegele and Stephanie Yang gave a tour of the community amenity building.

Onsite Amenities include:

·         Community Room with kitchen and fireplace

·         Game room with kitchenette, pool table, and table tennis

·         Fitness room

·         Movie Theatre

·         Sports simulator

·         Outdoor patio with grilling area

·         Fenced-in dog park

·         Pet-washing station

·         Basketball court

·         Playground

·         Free above-ground parking

·         Heated underground parking for a fee

Managers shared that out of the 230 units in the complex, they were at approximately 96% capacity at the time of the visit. They offer studio, 1-bedroom, 1-bedroom plus den, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom options with rent ranging between $1,900 and $2,150 per month. They employ three full-time staff and a part-time cleaner.

For more information about Village at Town Square Apartments, visit villageattc.com.

Keller/Baartman Properties owns and manages Village at Town Center Apartments.

On May 28, 2025, the Economic Development Authority visited LADC, which is located at 5900 Quam. LADC was started in 1984 as Landscape Architects Design Contractors, and several years ago, moved to its acronym, LADC, as their official company name.

LADC is a full-service maintenance company that serves clients in five states. Fifty-five percent of their business is commercial snow and ice maintenance. LADC Regional Manager Brandon Reilly shared their unique business model. They assign at least one specific machine and staff member to each client site. The machines are stored at the client site throughout the winter season. That model allows for a quick response to snow events. Staff automatically know where to report and, after a clearing or two, learn the best ways for fast and efficient snow removal for that site. Storing the removal equipment on site eliminates the additional transport time of the machine from LADC to the client site. It also allows back-up staff to go directly to the site if they need to fill in for any reason.

Other services they provide:

• Commercial Facility Maintenance
• Construction Services
• Tree Care Services

Their site is approximately 2.5 acres with an 18,000 square foot mechanic bay and storage. They also have business offices and a conference room onsite. During spring, summer, and fall, they employ 35 full-time employees and expand to around 180 full-time staff during the winter.

For more information on LADC, visit ladcusa.net

On March 26, 2025, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) visited the Center for Advanced Design (CAD) located at 5410 Quam Circle NE in St. Michael. 

CAD is a new product design firm that has seven full-time employees. The 3,600-square-foot building gives them plenty of room for creativity and collaboration for the wide array of products they design. 

On their website, they describe themselves as always asking,

“What if?’ It’s the question that fuels innovation. At CAD, we understand the difference between invention and innovation. Invention is important; it’s the beginning, it’s the spark, but innovation is where we actually create value for CAD, our customers, and the world.”

CAD creates the most promising inventions while practicing the discipline of design engineering and utilizing fundamental design knowledge to solve difficult problems.

CAD describes their work as,

“The journey from a need to an idea to a product is driven by curiosity and guided by experience. No process can make up for the lack of creativity or curiosity. Design is a collaborative enterprise; we are fortunate to work with the world’s greatest clients, and it’s our will to deliver above and beyond expectations that drives us each day.”

Projects CAD has worked on

• Graco – 64 projects to date
• Lid Boss – touchless coffee lid dispenser
• Boating-related projects for Brunswick, Lunds, Mercury, and Varatti (wake-surfing board)
• Target: Bullseye the Dog and seating benches
• Prosthetic leg
• Low-speed vehicle to market to retirement communities
• Bobcat
• Hotels – a sheet folding machine
• Prisons – Reliance Telephone for prisoner use, restraint recliner
• Histotripsy System – pinpoints cancer tumors and erases them, non-invasive cancer-removal, resulting in patients being cancer-free after a treatment.

History

CAD CEO Marc McCauley and President Jesse Hahne worked for Sportech in Elk River. As Sportech grew and McCauley and Hahne’s work moved away from their true desire to be leaders in product invention and creation, the concept for CAD was born. 

Companies reach out to CAD with an idea, and CAD creates a design to make that idea a reality. They develop a mathematical representation of the surface of an object for 3-D rendering and use 3-D printers to create a physical model so that tools for mass production can be made. They consider available materials and means of production during the design process to ensure the feasibility of the products making it to market.

Owners and co-founders Marc and Jesse also started CAM, a business where parts for some of their inventions are manufactured. The owners are constructing a 7,000-square-foot building on the current CAD site to optimize workflow efficiency. Currently, they lease space for their manufacturing and shipping on Quam, further up the street from the CAD building. CAM makes 150 different molds for parts in an average year. 

Some mass production is outsourced to offices in China and Vietnam. The benefit of this business model is that the 8-10 full-time employees can be scaled up to 200-250 employees for projects with tight deadlines.

For more information about CAD and the designs they have engineered, visit centerforadvanceddesign.com.

The EDA visited Zachman Realty Group on Jan. 22, 2025.

Prior to the meeting the EDA visited Zachman Realty Group (ZRG) located at 249 Central Ave. E, Suite 1, in St. Michael. Realtor Stacy Zachman provided a summary and brief history of the company during the visit.

ZRG consists of six realtors with over 50 years of combined experience to assist buyers and sellers with their needs. Most of their work focuses on residential properties in St. Michael, Albertville, Monticello, Big Lake, Rogers, Dayton, and some representation in Plymouth. A benefit they provide sellers is the opportunity to remodel areas in the home that will increase the value of client’s homes prior to listing it for sale. They can also provide staging services to visually highlight the best features of the home or to promote how to use a space to potential buyers.

 Stacy Zachman shared what she has seen in the housing market over the years.

•          Buyers in St. Michael are coming for the school district as well as the sense of community they feel when they are here.
•          There has been a low inventory of homes for sale in the area over the past 10 years.
•          Prices of homes over the last few years have been steady even with higher interest rates due to year over year of low inventory.
•          The number of short sales has increased, and foreclosures have decreased.

The Group was affiliated with Edina Realty but transitioned to REMAX Results at the beginning of 2024. They lease 1,250 square feet of space in a building set on the corner of Central Ave. and Lincoln Drive. You can learn more about this business at zachmanrealtygroup.com.