Tom Dwyer has upgraded the rental equipment and taken steps to offer a much wider selection of products for his customers to choose from at Isak Hansen and Sons in Lutsen.
It’s been a busy year in the making, but the change over is all but complete, said Tom Dwyer, owner, and operator of Isak Hansen and Sons, Inc. in Lutsen.
What Dwyer was referring to was the switch in cooperative partners to a new company that offers a wide array of products (more than 50,000 items), more than his former supplier could provide.
Plus, said Dwyer, the new service promises faster delivery of its products.
“We left our current cooperative partner in favor of a larger national distributor that offers us more than double the items we can offer in the store. Plus,” said Tom, “We have access to major brands such as Valspar, Sylvania lighting, OXO Good Grip, and Freud tool.
“This is in addition to the brands we carry now such as DeWalt, Cabot Stains, Stihl Outdoor power equipment, Whirlpool and Maytag, Square D, Marvin windows, LP Smart side and much more.”
Part of the reason for the switch was driven by “a run up against Amazon. Our previous cooperative wasn’t reacting to that challenge as well as we thought they could,” noted Dwyer.
Changes have also occurred in the gravel pit operation in Schroeder.
“We have made a big investment in rock crushing equipment so we can now meet the state Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) standards for Class 5, Class 1, and septic system sand and rock. We also offer a full range of landscaping materials from boulders to small washed stone and black dirt,” he said.
Change is sometimes hard, but in this case, Dwyer said, it was necessary.
“The move to independence allows us to tailor our product offerings and sale events more closely with what our customers need, not what the cooperative tells us to do. We also are improving our responsiveness to shipping needs by this change, so we have options for faster delivery,” he said.
Isak Hansen and Sons has been in business for 90 years, and Dwyer wants to continue to honor that legacy.
“The retail operations will be known as Hansen Home and Hardware and will still feature our rental shop for hand and power tool rental, as well as Cat skid steers and mini-excavator. Plus we’ve expanded our Stihl Outdoor power shop to include the new battery Combi TM trimmers, saws, and lawnmowers, and pressure washers. We upgraded the paint department with computerized mixing station and Purdy professional brushes,” said Dwyer.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Tom Dwyer at Tomd@isakhansen.com or 218- 663-7201.
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