November 1, 2003
Minnesota has had only two earthquakes in the last 28 years, and it isn’t
well-known for having a lot of dangerous earthquake zones. So you wouldn’t think
earthquake simulators would be built in Minnesota.
But Granite Fluid Power Inc., a company created in the aftermath of the closing
of Victor Fluid Power, shipped out five sets Friday of a crucial piece that
makes up the simulators.
Granite Fluid Power made five accumulator banks which will become a part of
system the University of California-San Diego uses to simulate earthquakes.
“They supply power for the entire system,” said Mike Carlson, one of five owners
of Granite Fluid Power Inc.
The accumulator banks weigh about 23,000 pounds each and were loaded on
semi-trucks Friday afternoon. Forklifts were used that can lift up to 24,000
pounds. The accumulator banks, which took about six months to build, will
be taken to California directly from Granite Falls, Carlson said. “They were
supposed to go out last week, but the (California wild) fire was getting too
close so we had to wait,” Carlson said.
When Victor Fluid Power closed permanently in December 2000, five employees of
the company didn’t want to give up their jobs, so they went in together and
bought part of the company. They hired about 20 other former employees of Victor
Fluid, and Granite Fluid Power Inc. was created. “We didn’t have to train
anyone,” Carlson said. “That has really been a key to our success.” All the
employees already knew how to run the machines, which Carlson said was important
so the machines were never broken or misused.
Granite Fluid Power Inc.’s business with the accumulator banks of the earthquake
simulator system has been maintained from Victor Fluid Power. Carlson said
that they used to be made through Victor Fluid Power, but Granite Fluid Power
Inc. has been able to maintain that clientele.
“(The accumulator banks) are just one piece of an entire system,” Carlson said.
After the University of California-San Diego receives the shipment, the
accumulator banks will be put into a building that is not finished yet. “We got
done early, so they’ll be dropped inside through the roof,” Carlson said. They
will then become a part of a system to simulate earthquakes and develop building
codes based on the simulations.
The accumulator banks are a small, but interesting, part of what Granite
Fluid Power Inc. does. The company is billed “for all your machining, welding
and hydraulic needs” and does business across the world. “A lot of our work goes
to Mexico, Canada and even China,” Carlson said. For a company located in
an old bus garage, it’s doing pretty well. “Buses used to be stored here,”
Carlson said from inside the shop. “But the tornado wiped it out, so we bought
it and had it rebuilt. Now it’s basically a big machine shop.”
Granite Fluid Power is currently working with clients ranging from the United
States Government to the Hershey Chocolate Co.. It also just won the bid for
work on the footings on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. But Carlson
said the company is more than happy to work for people who come in locally.
“It’s just not the bulk of what we do,” he said. Granite Fluid Power has
been open just about three years, and Carlson said things are going well.
“We’ve doubled our sales every year since we opened,” he said.
When Victor Fluid Power closed, Granite Fluid Power Inc. was unable to maintain
its entire clientele, but Carlson said they’re starting to come back.
“Manufacturing has been really down lately,” he said. “We’ve been very
fortunate.”
By Bethany Norgaard
Independent Staff Writer
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