DETROIT LAKES — It took more than an hour to tour the massive metalworks facility.

With sparks flying from nearby welders and forklifts constantly running back and forth, BTD Manufacturing in Detroit Lakes opened its doors to the public for Tour of Manufacturing Day organized by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Oct. 6.

Marty Sorlien, a member of the BTD Manufacturing sales team, gave detailed information about the facility and its operations to members of his tour group and was sure to point out all of the machinery and staff that contribute to the large manufacturing footprint the company has in Detroit Lakes.

"From our standpoint, it's really important just to see how to get more people involved as we're trying to hire around the area, and I think everybody in the area is doing the same thing," said Sorlien. "We're essentially competing with our partners who we're partnering with today to get people, so trying to find the right niche that each person wants to come into is going to be a benefit for each individual."

He added, being in a small community in Detroit Lakes, people may have heard about the work that goes on at these large manufacturing facilities from other family members or friends, but those stories rarely tell the whole story.

"A lot of the people work at one of the seven factories around here," said Sorlien. "Until you actually see what goes on at each place, it's different. It's eye opening at some points."

Sorlien showed off the company's laser cutter, which can be programmed to cut precise dimensions out of sheet metal up to an inch thick.

Other types of rod metal stock can be shaped and bent to fit the needs for any of the company's clientele, he said. Some of BTD Manufacturing clients include: Bobcat, Polaris, Toro and John Deere, he added.

BTD also does its own research and development in-house, said Sorlien, with clients providing designs for potential parts and then BTD constructing those parts for testing. The company then provides the prototype to the client, who can then make changes to the design based on the results, and then mass produce the parts through BTD once they are satisfied.

BTD Manufacturing owns four facilities in total, including Detroit Lakes. The other plants are located in Lakeville, Minn., Washington, Ill., and Dawsonville, Ga.

The company also uses a water jet cutting machine, which can cut metal up to 5 ½ inches thick in a submerged water tank.

Michael Stroschein, a BTD Manufacturing water jet cutter operator, said the machine uses a water pressure jet up to 52,000 pounds-per-square-inch and garnet sand to make precise cuts in pieces of metal. He also showed how precise the cutter is by displaying a metal snowflake made by the machine, which was only about 2 inches wide.

He also said the water jet cutter doesn't leave a hard edge on the finished metal piece, unlike the laser cutter, because a lot less heat is transferred in the water tank.

As the tour continued, shelving began to stretch from the floor to the ceiling with containers of finished products and the tools used to make them and, Sorlien said, a special forklift is required to operate in the stacks that prevent the forklift from turning while engaged. This saves space in the warehouse, he added, because the shelves can be closer together.

At the loading dock, coils of bound sheet metal sit ready to be used by the large machines to craft different parts. Sorlien estimated BTD Manufacturing goes through about 1.1 million to 1.3 million pounds of steel stock every week.

The largest rolls of sheet metal stock are used like paper towel rolls and fed into large stamping presses, the largest weighing about 800 tons, and then hydraulically stamped to create metal shapes to be used for parts.

Other local manufacturers that participated in Tour of Manufacturing Day were:

BTD Manufacturing and many of the other companies who participated in the event are currently hiring for multiple positions and anyone interested should visit their online job portals. Sorlien said no experience is required to work at BTD and the company will train and certify new employees for any potential position.

"It's tougher in a smaller community here where we're at," he said. "There are only so many places to work and only so many people to choose from."