Homegrown company Trystar looks forward to bright future

Homegrown company Trystar has enjoyed years of solid growth, and recently moved into a new space on the north end of Faribault that should help it to grow further. (Andrew Deziel/southernminn.com)

Homegrown company

looks forward to bright future

By ANDREW DEZIEL andrew.deziel@apgsomn.com

With support from the city and county, a rapidly growing Faribault business is settling into new office space as it looks forward to a bright future — and plays a crucial role in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 1992, Trystar has manufactured temporary electrical power units for commercial and emergency services purposes in Faribault. Trystar’s products have traditionally been in demand when natural disasters hit, with hurricane season its strongest time of the year.

Even before the pandemic, Trystar had seen robust demand and growth for years. With a reputation for quality and an ability to get its products to customers in a timely fashion, it won devoted customers all over the world. Since the pandemic, Trystar’s units have provided power for testing stations and other emergency uses. Those needs have continued as authorities try to figure out how to store and distribute vaccines that need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures.

Trystar CEO A.J. Smith expects to see his company’s growth continue as businesses recover from COVID-19. Smith said that the first quarter of 2021 was stronger than expected and quarter two looks even more promising.

Despite that momentum, Smith noted that many larger events are still being canceled or postponed. As a result, the side of Trystar’s business traditionally focused on large gatherings and festivals may not recover until the second half of the year.

Trystar’s employees will be able to meet those needs from larger and significantly upgraded facilities. After years of

Trystar’s new office space, completed by hometown firm Met-Con Construction, includes a “collaboration space” with a coffee bar. (Andrew Deziel/southernminn.com)

juggling between five separate buildings in Faribault’s industrial park, the company moved into one 100,000-square foot building last summer.

After the move, Trystar’s office workers were forced to work in makeshift stations on the factory floor while a 20,000-foot expansion with a sizable break room, clean, quiet workspaces for office staff and a “collaboration space” with couches and a coffee bar were being completed.

Though all of Trystar’s former facilities were relatively near one another, the company had long wanted to bring its operations under one roof. It sought a solution as far back as 2012, but a proposed 170,000 square-foot facility in Shakopee never came to fruition.

Efforts to address Trystar’s space situation kicked into high gear again in 2018, when founder Rick Dahl sold the company to Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, a Twin Cities-based equity firm which brought in Smith, a former Honeywell executive, to run the ship.

One of Smith’s first moves as CEO was to open a new office in Burnsville. He’s said the new location has proven to be a recruiting tool for Twin Cities-based workers and is convenient for customers, thanks to its proximity to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Smith then turned his attention to Trystar’s space needs. Despite the company’s investment in Burnsville, the company wanted to keep its main location in Faribault to maintain existing partnerships and avoid uprooting its workforce.

Initially, Trystar explored the option of expanding one of the company’s existing Faribault locations. However, it discovered that under the current building code, none of those sites could be expanded sufficiently to meet the company’s needs.

While it was not the company’s preference, Trystar expanded its search to include potential sites in Burnsville and Lakeville. There, it found several sites that could accommodate current needs and future growth for an affordable price.

Trystar inquired about the warehouse on the north end of Faribault, but it was projected to cost $550,000 more than options in the south metro. About $400,000 of this was due to higher rent over a period of time and $150,000 to accommodate needed building modifications.

Because the project wouldn’t be tied to a new company or new jobs, getting funding from economic development agencies was a challenge. Wanting to keep Trystar in town, the city, county and Faribault Economic Development Authority cut a deal to close the funding gap.

The EDA provided a $100,000 loan, forgivable after five years, with the remainder covered by tax abatement. The city’s portion of the abatement was $260,040, with the county covering $189,960, both over a 10-year period.

Reach Reporter Andrew Deziel at 507-333-3129 or follow him on Twitter @FDNandrew. © Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

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Answering your questions on LASiK surgery

MICHAEL RICHIE

Guest columnist Richie is a comprehensive ophthalmologist at Richie Eye Clinic with a special interest in laser vision correction.

COVID-19 numbers are down, the vaccine is here, and spring is right around the corner — let’s talk about something other than the pandemic, shall we?

How about LASIK? I know …”LASIK isn’t new,” you’re thinking, “What could you possibly tell us that we don’t already know?”

Good thought, so let’s go through some of the usual stuff rapid fire:

LASIK reshapes your cornea to reduce/ eliminate your need for glasses or contacts.

LASIK works.

LASIK doesn’t wear off.

LASIK corrects distance vision.

Only 1-3% need a second treatment. Most prescriptions can be treated.

You must have a normal, healthy cornea to qualify for LASIK.

LASIK will temporarily damage the nerves in the cornea.

As a result, everyone will have dry eye and glare at night for the first two-four weeks.

The damaged nerves may take three-six months to heal. Be patient.

OK, now for some not so usual stuff, but common enough that we can still go rapid fire:

If you have a corneal issue, don’t have LASIK. Just isn’t worth it.

If you see clearly at distance but have trouble reading, you are probably over 40 and have lost “accommodation,” the eye’s ability to adjust its focus from distance to near.

LASIK cannot fix loss of accommodation.

A cataract is the normal clear lens in the eye turned yellow. This can blur vision. We can achieve a “LASIK-like” result with cataract surgery.

If you have a cataract, have cataract surgery, not LASIK. It’s a twofer.

That wasn’t too bad, right? But rumor has it a new LASIK center is opening soon in Faribault, so let’s dive into some of the more advanced stuff to assure you ask all the right questions.

Original laser technology from back in the 1990’s was impressive, cutting-edge science. But, just like your cellphone and laptop, things advance quickly. “Wavefront” soon became the norm and, in one fashion or another, is what you should demand if you are shopping for LASIK.

With standard laser technology we treat your glasses prescription, not your eye. Anyone with glasses similar to yours will get the same treatment as you. “So what,” you say. Well, that’s what we thought 25 years ago, too. Until we looked further.

Wavefront technology is individualized to your eye with more advanced measurements and even a topographical map of your cornea. Greater precision means less glare, better night vision and enhanced contrast sensitivity.

Some analogies can be helpful:

You hire a cabinet maker to build you a dresser. The corners all fit nicely, everything is level and the drawers work beautifully … but she didn’t sand the wood before painting. Wavefront leaves the surface of the eye as smooth as possible.

You must replace your car windshield. The new glass fits snug all around with no leaks but the glass has some imperfections, smudges, and irregularities. Driving into the sun, the glare is terrible and headlights at night sparkle. Wavefront is like choosing the highest quality glass for your windshield.

Best Buy is having a sale you can’t resist. You opt for the 65-incher that fits perfectly in your family room. Do you get standard or HD?

There you have it in a nutshell. Standard LASIK works but has notable limitations that could negatively impact your vision. Do you need wavefront? Well, do you need the furniture smooth, the windshield pristine and HD in four rooms in the house? Be wary of bargain basement deals.

Still have questions? Stop in to Richie Eye Clinic and LASIK Center. We have answers, and LASIK evaluations are on us.

Downtown Faribault remains attractive place for millennial business owners

JESSICA PRILL

Guest columnist Prill is the owner of Faribault-based Fleur De Lis Gallery and a partner in Good Day Coffee.

My name is Jessica Prill, and I am the owner of a couple of small, brickand-mortar businesses in downtown Faribault. I have Fleur de lis Gallery, an art boutique focused on all handmade items by Minnesota artists, and am a partner in Good Day Coffee. I opened the gallery in 2016 and the coffee shop this past December.

Being a small business owner was something I always wanted to do. As a kid I had a very different idea about what that meant of course. No boss, no limits, do whatever I want and watch the money fall from the sky…I had much to learn….

I owned my first business in 2007, right before the biggest economic downturn of my generation. I had taken over a high-end boutique that sold all the super unnecessary frivolities of the time. I enjoyed one good year and then learned many hard lessons until I had had enough in 2011.

When I decided to jump back into the ring and open the gallery, I used what I had learned from my defeats with the boutique. I am happy to say that as hard as that was to fail at my first try, I would never have the success I do today without it. I started the gallery as a pop-up with 10 fellow artist friends and today am open all year and hosting over 70 Minnesota creatives!

What I love most about being a business owner in Faribault is the positive connection and impact I am able to have on the community, its residents and visitors. I have met so many amazing people during my time here. It is a beautifully diverse community, and I am told regularly by my customers how appreciative they are of the businesses that I have brought to the town.

When we opened the coffee shop I was introduced to a whole new side of the community. I suddenly had a steady stream of people from the deaf community coming in for their daily latte. I was fortunate to have hired on a girl who was able to sign, and she showed me the basics of signing. It feels really good to be able to communicate with this group and make their day with a great cup of coffee. The learning never stops, and that’s another thing that I love.

Navigating a pandemic has also been a huge learning experience. While a large portion of the world was now needing to stay home and businesses were shuttering all around me, I had to figure out how to continue doing business. My gallery is fed mostly by day trippers which were all but deleted from my customer base. At the same time the cupcake business across the hall and the restaurant on the other side of me closed for good. That pretty much left me on an island of isolation. So I did the thing you have to do as an entrepreneur and took hold of the opened opportunity and started Good Day Coffee with a friend and fellow business owner.

Being a self-employed person is seven days a week, with countless bosses (my customers) and no end of mental gymnastics to stay ahead of everything. I’m still waiting for the money to fall from the sky like my girlish dreams predicted ... but I am enjoying every minute of this journey just the same.