St. Augusta Business is Raising the Bar for the Marine Industry

There are a lot of Minnesotans who love their boats. Whether it’s to fish or to float, taking to one of the many bodies of water during the warmer weather months is a favorite pastime here.  

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So, knowing that, would you be surprised to learn that there’s a family owned and operated company in St. Augusta that is building parts that allow boaters to get more from their time on the water?  

PowrTran is in St. Augusta and has been in business for nearly 30 years but was bought in 2012 with a new vision in mind, which was to offer boaters products that allow them to be able enjoy your time on the water more. 

CEO Danny Nyren and his cousin Steve Hiemenz, who is the director of sales and marketing, gave me a tour and showed me around the facility in St. Augusta. Danny is the owner along with his mom and dad, Gary and Jane and his sister Jenna Phillips. Her husband Nick works there too, he is the shop manager at PowrTran.  

There are three valued employees who are a big part of keeping the products rolling out to customers; Randy Nolan, Demetrius Lewis and Randall Williams complete the team at PowrTran.  

The company does some direct to customer ordering, but also has several distributors who connect their products with boaters. A lot of the products Powrtran makes are sent to Southern states, and as the types of fishing are different than Walleye fishing around Minnesota and the Midwest.  

Powrtran has five products that are being distributed currently.  

The Impulse Electromechanical Jack Plates: which raises your outboard engine vertically. The Impulse is the first major jack plate that is fully electric and not hydraulic.  

The advantage of using an electric “jack plate” is that it is cleaner and more energy efficient. There are no messy fluids or hoses that won’t bleed down overtime. There are four different sizes of the Impulse Jack Plate. 

The Tailfin: Kicker Steering System which allows you flexibility in steering by using a wireless remote and is the only kicker steering system that offers adjustable settings.  

The Foresight: is a mount that goes on your trolling motor and allows you to have pinpoint control of your forward-facing sonar. The Foresight offers a wireless foot pedal that allows you to keep your hands for steering or reeling.  

The Pro Tabs: is a trim tab system that features a joystick and will help your boat turn into a wave-taming machine.  There are four sizes available for the Pro Tabs Trim Tab systems from PowrTran.  

Toon Kicker: is a pontoon kicker bracket which is perfect for pontoon owners who want to add a kicker motor to their pontoon. 

 Research and development are at the core of the innovation Powrtran prides itself in, combined with analyzing trends in the marine industry to make sure they are on top of the demands of their customers.  

The company currently has contracts with leading marine companies and is constantly working to connect with more. So, the next time you take the water, pay attention to see if you are using a product made here in Minnesota at Powrtran.