Boker's, Inc., a metal stamping manufacturer of precision metal stampings, washers, spacers and shims, is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Vitus Boker, who previously worked at a manufacturing company in Denmark, started the company with his son, John, in 1919, and called it V.A. Boker and Sons, Inc. Eventually his other children also joined the family business. With Vitus' tooling knowledge, the enterprise began generating most of its revenue from manufacturing prototypes and custom parts for automated machinery. Word spread of Boker's unique process for producing high-quality, short-run, stamped metal parts, and demand grew. Vitus became one of the pioneers of short-run stampings.
In 1968, Boker's was purchased by four of its employees, and in 1986 William (Bill) Tedlund became the sole owner. Today, Boker's is still a privately held family-owned business, in its fifth generation, guided by Vitus Boker's principals of hard work and attention to detail with Tedlund as Chairman of the Board.
From starting to help out the family business as children, and growing into leadership positions, the legacy continues. "I remember assembling advertising sample packs at home with my sister and brother," said Amy Kersey, President/CEO. "We have all been involved with the business throughout our lives and love working here. As other employees learned and grew into other positions, so did I, working my way through most every office position. Today, I continue to focus on our customer needs and our people. Every job is important here."
Boker's has manufactured parts for almost every industry and product imaginable. One customers of Boker's is a major aerospace manufacturer who came to Boker's for various parts, including small parts for the gauges in the cockpit, parts for the fuel system and even a part that was used for the inflation slide on an airplane. Another longstanding customer of over 80 years is a dental company that needed a part made for a mouth piece that was used for absorbing fluids during procedures.
In times of crisis, Boker's manufactures component parts that are urgently needed, whether it was for urgent combat efforts during WWII, or making a custom stamping used in rescue efforts at Ground Zero during 9/11. Employees banded together to get these high-quality parts out quickly, sometimes within a 24-hr turnaround.
"Customers trust Boker's because of our service, quality and on-time delivery," said Nick Todora, retired Advertising Manager. "They would come to us with a difficult part that they were struggling with and we would figure out how to manufacture the part to their exact specifications."
Over the past 100 years, Boker's has embraced technology, which has gone from largely manual processes to utilizing automated controls and equipment. Tolerances have tightened while the parts and components have shrunk.
Boker's continues to evolve with new technology while embracing the ever-changing needs of its customers. "Our customers are diverse. Our employees are smart, quick and pay attention to the details needed to produce the component that the customer needs in a timely fashion," said Mark Kersey. "Years ago, lead times were 14-20 weeks to deliver parts; today the turnaround time is about 2 weeks."
Boker's is currently expanding its manufacturing facility to streamline processes and add capacity as product diversification continues to grow. The new space adds 66,500 sq. ft., almost doubling its current manufacturing space.
"Our controlled processes, coupled with our employee base, is what sets us apart," said Chuck Kersey, Assistant Sales Manager. "Our team works hard and is dedicated to following and continually improving processes. This is the reason Boker's is successful and will continue to be so for the next 100 years."
For more information contact:
Boker's, Inc.
3104 Snelling Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
800-927-4377
sales@bokers.com
www.bokers.com