Company Info

This last year was a rough one for all of us. Everything was different and we all were left on our own to figure out how to entertain ourselves and our family members safely.

Justin Erkenbrack, SJF Solutions Specialist, had a pretty great weekend of safe entertainment this winter with his fiancé, kids and the wide open ice of a Minnesota lake. Not only did they have a great time, he caught himself a monster!

In Minnesota, we take our fishing seriously. Many people spend half of their life in search of “the big one” (literally, and this is no joke to the serious fishermen!), so to catch this one was a rare moment!

Justin’s 16″ crappie is easily considered “trophy sized” by any fishing expert’s standards (and believe us, there are a lot of self-proclaimed fishing experts around this area). I know this because I fact-checked the info by Googling “What is considered a trophy sized crappie“.

The definition from this highly scientific source, otherwise known as Google, was as follows:

That depends on several things – the body of water you’re fishing, the state in which you fish, how big a crappie you’ve caught before. Speaking in generalities, however, any crappie over 1 1/2 pounds is an exceptional fish, and for most anglers in most waters, a crappie over 2 pounds would be the trophy of a lifetime.

This beast weighed in around 3 lbs. and was caught using a minnow head and a jig given to him by none other than, and I quote from Justin himself, “The legendary fish slayer” and another of SJF’s Solutions Specialists, Tom Moore.

Being true Minnesotans, we were all excited for him and feel he has secured bragging rights for a good long time for this one! Maybe it will give us all something to shoot for next time we take to the lake, whether it be frozen or not.

Lucas Brady, President of Lake Russell Building Supply in Elberton, GA, had a need for storage solutions for a pole building they were enclosing in order to protect their product from the elements and better service their customers. In October 2019, Lucas contacted SJF via their “live chat” feature (that is, in fact, answered by a real live professional). Solutions Specialist Jason Deiter answered the chat and began discussing the application.

They wanted to rack out 2 walls of their pole building to allow for storage of treated lumber in various unit sizes. For this application, we chose 5′ brace sets to accommodate the various unit lengths and 4′ heavy duty arms that would work for dimensional and sheet goods. The result was positive and it has really changed and improved the way that they handle materials.

Knowing that they would need more, in February of 2020 Lucas reached out to add on another 90′ section to store yellow pine, tongue and grove, staged loads and special orders.

Lucas writes: “These racks have made such a big impact on every aspect of handling lumber. We will definitely be adding more in the future. Thank you. I’m as happy about having them as you were in selling them.“

Jason and our other solutions specialists are available to help you find the best solution for your individual space. They are trained to “think outside the box” and have excellent ideas to help solve your problem.

If you have a project that you’d like help with, feel free to call Jason at (320) 485-4961 or email him at jdeiter@sjf.com. He’d be happy to help with your project!

Justin Erkenbrack, Solutions Specialist at SJF, has been working with Lee C. Parts out of Massachusetts to come up with a solution for storing cars that are being parted out. The customer needed a way to keep the cars out of the way and off the floor, while still making them easily accessible. With Justin’s help and expertise, a great workable solution was found… Cantilever racking.

Justin and the rest of our solutions specialists will work with you to find a solution to your problem. Whether it’s storage or more complex warehouse operations and automation, they have the training and experience to help.

If you have a problem or need some ideas, feel free to contact Justin directly at (320) 485-4962 or jerkenbrack@sjf.com. He’s happy to help!

We had an absolutely adorable visitor at SJF last week that we were all happy to see… None other than sweet little Sloane Sterner stopped by, along with her Mom, Kelli, of course, to say hi. Sloane is our youngest SJF family member at only 9 months old and is the daughter of Sam and Kelli Sterner. Talk about a great way to brighten the day!