Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota is known for its cheese curds, farmland and distinct accents. The state of Minnesota is also home to the largest mall and state fair in the USA. The iglidur® car was fortunate enough to get to participate in all of these Minnesotan activities.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are the “Twin Cities” of Minnesota.” Minneapolis is the larger of the two and lies between banks of the Mississippi River. The smaller of the twins, St. Paul, is the state’s capital city.
Minneapolis is abundantly rich in water, with 20 lakes, the Mighty Mississippi, and a number of creeks, waterfalls, and wetlands. It was once the word’s flour million capital and a hub for timer. Today, the city is primarily a business centre between Seattle and Chicago. Although the country was rated the 14th largest metropolitan area, the city is very quiet and still. Traffic is minimal, and most restaurants are empty by 9PM.
In Minneapolis, we visited a number of customers including a manufacturer of commercial and residential lawn mowers. They use iglidur® bearings in a variety of applications on their mowers, and choose iglidur® because of their ability to stand up to flying dirty soil and other debris that could clog and seize traditional ball bearings.
iglidur® plastic bearings are also able to stand up to fertilizers and other chemicals that are unavoidable in the agriculture industry. Some iglidur® materials, like iglidur® T500, can even stand up to hydrochloric acid! Good luck trying that with a standard plastic material!
Another customer visit was to an engineering firm that work in many different industries including wind turbines. Due to their light weight and green properties, iglidur® bearings are a natural fit inside. Additionally, because they are up to 8 times lighter than metal bearings, iglidur® bearings can reduce the weight and drive requirements of applications, also requiring less oil power to create than comparable steel bearings.
After customer visits, the iglidur® car took off for the Minnesota State Fair. This year, the fair set a record for their highest attendance ever – with 252,092 people walking through the gates with 2 days to go!!
Everyone had a great time at the fair, especially those hungry people that wandered in! You could buy any type of food imaginable on a stick- from beef jerky to alligator, even a salad on a stick!
Strolling through the fair, a lumberjack show and carving contest drew quite the crowd, the competitors even had a race up and down the tree trunks using their rope skills for support.
From the State Fair, the car headed out for some shopping at the Mall of America – 4.3 miles of store front, or 7 Yankee Stadiums of shopping under one roof! Inside, there is even an amusement park with a fully looping roller coaster.
From Minneapolis, iglidur® on tour heads south to Iowa.
Thanks for reading,
Kayla
