Company: Mortenson Outdoor Sign
Market: Minnesota
Headquarters: PO Box 1001 Fergus Falls, MN 56538-1001
Phone: 218-205-7052
Email: mike@mortensonoutdoorsign.com
Mortenson Outdoor Sign is a locally owned private company in Fergus Falls, MN with operates a billboard plant in Western Minnesota. Mike Mortenson was born and raised in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and is a fourth generation resident. Insider talked with Mortenson.
Mike, how did you get into the outdoor business?
I have a background in metal fabrication and welding. I thought I would challenge myself by building a billboard. I sold my boat for the startup costs and bought 6 large pipes instead. Now I produce and manufacture 12 x 24 and 14 x 48 billboards. I haven’t fished since, not enough time.
Tell us about your plant.
My plant is a full billboard manufacturing plant. We build all sizes of billboards from scratch by blueprints. I have a 4500 sq foot shop with lifts and several different welders to get the job done. We use bucket trucks to help with the construction of the billboard on site. The only thing we don’t have is a crane to top off the billboards when we are done with the construction.
What’s the Minnesota outdoor market like?
The Mn outdoor market is cold. I can hang vinyls in the 20-30 below, and that’s not fun. The wind always blows. However, we have a major highway (I-94) that runs through the middle of the sate, and it’s a great place for billboards. if you start in western Mn and head to Wisconsin you will pass many billboards and not many are empty. The state is accommodating for billboard operators.
Are there specific challenges servicing an outdoor plant in extremely cold temperatures during the winter.
Cold weather is more of a hassle for the vinyl hanger than the actual vinyl. Sure it’s stiffer, but it is amazing what a little sun can do to help the vinyl stretch. Sure on mornings when it is 25 below zero, is a morning when I wish I was an accountant, but that’s fine. I usually put billboards up in the early morning or late evening due to the wind, and fabricate during the day.
Do you have any digital signs? What’s your attitude towards digital?
I don’t have any digitals yet, but that will change. I think digitals are great, and they have their place. I feel that at intersections or were traffic is stopped they are very effective, but on normal roads I still prefer vinyl.
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