Rapala hooks Big Lake maker of ice augers

Finnish fishing tackle giant Rapala VMC Corp. has acquired StrikeMaster Corp. of Big Lake, Minn., a leading supplier of ice augers, in a deal that gives Rapala the proverbial opening in the ice fishing business.

StrikeMaster makes handheld, gas-powered and electric augers needed for drilling holes in the ice.

At the same time, Rapala acquired the Mora ICE brand, Europe's leading maker of ice augers and ice auger blades, from Mora of Sweden AB. The total price for both StrikeMaster and Mora is about $9.24 million, Rapala said in a Finnish regulatory filing. The acquisitions are part of a strategy to give Rapala a complete range of products for ice fishermen.

"We have jumped into the winter business with both boots," Tom Mackin, president of Rapala USA, said in a statement. "Our new ice-fishing lineup is quite extensive with tackle and accessories, augers, electronics and more."

According to Mackin, StrikeMaster, which has 10 employees, has a 70 percent share of the handheld and a 50 percent share of the power auger markets in the U.S. The company's powered augers include two- and four-stroke gasoline models and electric versions.

StrikeMaster augers will be at work Saturday to help drill 25,000 holes for the Brainerd Jaycees ice-fishing tournament this weekend. The tournament on Gull Lake is billed as the largest charitable ice fishing tournament in the world.

In January, Rapala USA, struck a distribution agreement with MarCum Technologies of New Hope, a maker of underwater cameras, sonar flashers and digital fish finders primarily for ice fisherman. MarCum will continue to do the engineering, product development and manufacturing and Rapala will handle sales, marketing and distribution.

Rapala, which has a large catalog of ice fishing lures, ice fishing lines and accessories, can now offer ice fisherman the tools needed to get to and find fish including augers, underwater cameras, sonar flashers, and digital fish finders.

"Our goal is to be a dominant player in ice fishing in every category," said Mackin in an interview Friday.

Ice fishing is a natural fit for Rapala. The parent company is publicly traded in Finland with a strong presence in the Nordic countries and other ice-belt countries including France, Estonia, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and Canada. Mackin estimates the new deals will boost Rapala's ice fishing category to about 15 percent of the company's total sales.

For the year ended Dec. 31, Rapala VMC had worldwide sales of approximately $390 million. The company has 32 distribution companies around the world. Rapala USA is the largest in the group, with about 100 employees in Minnetonka.

"In the future we will move into other categories like shelters and sleds and those related accessories," Mackin said. Since Rapala's Canadian distribution arm already sells sleds, shelters, and other products Mackin anticipates they'll use the StrikeMaster name to move into those categories quickly.

"StrikeMaster is probably the most well-known brand in all of ice fishing," said Mackin. "So we intend to use the StrikeMaster brand not only for augers but for other ice fishing categories."

Rapala USA now has done three deals with Minnesota-based companies in the last six months. In addition to the deals with StrikeMaster and MarCum the company signed a marketing and distribution agreement in September with Goldleaf Plastics Inc. of St. Cloud. Goldleaf makes high-quality plastic products and will produce a line of fish cleaning boards, fillet stations, rulers and rod racks for Rapala.

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926