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profile, but we're excited about what we've been able to build <br />here in Duluth." <br />Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port <br />Authority, which is Altec's landlord, estimated the company's <br />local workforce at "around 200 people or maybe more now." <br />VMS I <br />� Mlie i< IaNY IMi I I I: <br />BRENTS HEATING AND COOLING <br />YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO SAVE <br />OVER 30% ON YOUR HEATING <br />BILL WITH YOUR NEW, ENERGY <br />EFFICIENT TRANS! <br />VIEW ALL OFFERS ADD YOUR BUSINESS <br />"They've had very steady, measured growth over the last decade," Sharrow said. <br />Altec HiLine is a subsidiary of Altec Inc., and the company's footprint in Duluth has continued to grow <br />with its production. Altec now leases about 144,000 square feet of manufacturing floor, 11,000 square <br />feet of office space and 5,000 square feet of storage from the Port Authority. <br />Altec now occupies all of a building that once was home to American Hoist & Derrick. It used to share <br />quarters with A.W. Kuettel & Sons Inc. and Chicago Tube & Iron Co., but both have relocated, the <br />former to Duluth's Airpark industrial area and the latter to Proctor. <br />Duluth Mayor Don Ness said the city provided financing through its Build in Duluth loan program to <br />help Kuettel construct its new facility. In addition to aiding that company, Ness said: "We wanted to <br />give Altec the space it needed to expand operations." <br />Styslinger, whose grandfather founded the Alabama Truck Equipment Co. in 1929, said Altec acquired <br />the assets of Duluth's NorStar Products International in 2002, drawn by the company's line of <br />specialized big boom trucks serving the electrical transmission industry. He said that besides having an <br />attractive product line, NorStar also was a good fit with Altec because "they shared the same culture and <br />values as we had." <br />Today, Altec manufactures lift trucks in Duluth with aerial reaches of up to 150 feet. Some of its biggest <br />units cost nearly $1 million apiece, said Tim Spangenberg, a regional sales manager. <br />Styslinger said the machines are produced to meet exacting standards. <br />"In the electrical transmission industry, safety is paramount. There's no cutting corners when you're <br />putting men in the air in a dangerous environment," he said. <br />110 <br />