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The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Garett Lamppa of Lamppa Manufacturing as SBA’s Minnesota Family-Owned Small Business of the Year. In recognition of National Small Business Week, SBA’s Minnesota District Office will recognize its 2024 state winners locally in the weeks ahead.
“The Family-Owned small business award honors legacies that last for generations,” shared Brian McDonald, SBA’s Minnesota District Director. “Garrett is continuing to build upon Lamppa Manufacturing’s reputation for quality products, competitive jobs, and strong support of their rural community in Tower, MN.”
Four generations of Lamppas built Lamppa Manufacturing on Minnesota’s Iron Range. Garrett Lamppa’s great-grandfather, Richard Lamppa worked as a blacksmith in Embarrass, Minnesota in the 1930’s, and began making sauna stoves for the Finnish settlers who lived nearby. Garrett’s grandfather, Herbert Lamppa, helped Richard build the stoves and eventually took over the business with Garrett’s father, Daryl, in the 1970s. Herbert and Daryl, worked together for decades, working to create one of the cleanest and most efficient wood-burning furnaces on the market. During this time, it was Daryl’s passion to burn wood better and all of his endless testing that has led to the product evolution of today. This includes the efficient and clean burning Kuuma BluFlame, a gasification sauna stove designed from their patented furnace technology released at the end of 2023.
In 2008, Garrett took over Herbert’s management responsibilities to help the family business as a side job. Garrett said, “Working with my dad was the best thing that ever happened to our relationship.” Garrett transitioned into CEO and fulltime employment in 2021.
Today, Lamppa Manufacturing sells wood-burning furnaces and wood sauna stoves out of their facility in Tower, MN, and the Kumma Sauna Stove is their flagship product. The original team of 3-4 skilled employees making an average of 100 sauna stoves and 40-50 furnaces annually has since expanded to 18 full-time employees. During the peak of the pandemic, Lamppa Manufacturing sold 650 sauna stoves and over 100 furnaces.
In early 2022, Garrett participated in SBA resource partner, Entrepreneur Fund’s Quality Jobs program, which helped him invest in his employees by improving safety, offering competitive wages, and adding benefits packages. In 2023, Entrepreneur Fund collaborated with Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) on two working capital loans for Lamppa Manufacturing’s production, testing, marketing, staff training, and inventory of new products. In October of 2023, Lamppa Manufacturing was recognized as a regional business of excellence by the Entrepreneur Fund.
Lamppa Manufacturing is incredibly involved in the community, providing quality jobs and support to the surrounding rural area. Recently, the business has partnered with Bluejacket Career Academies and Industrial Technology at the Hibbing High School to build a sauna with students. With ninety years and four generations of experience and hard work, Lamppa Manufacturing is striving to make Tower, MN the “Sauna Capital of the World”.
National Small Business Week 2024 is taking place the first week of May and will include a multiday virtual event open to all. The conference will feature numerous educational panels, and recognize national award winners, including naming this year’s National Small Business Person of the Year. For registration and additional information on National Small Business Week, visit https://www.sba.gov/national- small-business-week
