Alumnus wins prestigious award

Company named Entrepreneurial Business of the Year

In late September of 2005, Ritalka Inc. was chosen as the Southwest Minnesota Entrepreneurial Business of the Year at the Annual Southwest Minnesota Workforce Summit. The award was presented to Kevin Wald for outstanding accomplishments as the president of engineering and manufacturing firm, SpecSys Inc.
The award, which was presented by the Southwest Minnesota Workforce Council and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, honored Mr. Wald and the employees of SpecSys Inc. for the company’s achievements in “willingness to assume risk, success in innovation, response to adversity, and community involvement.” The award is given annually at the Southwest Minnesota Workforce Summit which is hosted by the Southwest Minnesota Workforce Council and the Central Minnesota Workforce Investment Board for the eighteen county area of southwestern Minnesota.
About SpecSys, Inc.:
Specialty Systems (SpecSys) specializes in design and development of machinery and mobile equipment for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) clients across North America. SpecSys was founded in March of 1997 and has grown quickly to be a premiere engineering design and manufacturing firm. With just under 150 experienced staff members on board, SpecSys is able to tackle a wide range of product developments and production, including follow-on support.
At the point of completing a documentation package, SpecSys is able to provide follow-on phases related to product development that other firms are unable to achieve. SpecSys has the ability to develop prototype builds, testing, fixture design and builds, and pilot unit production runs along with the flexibility, product experience capabilities, and capacity to offer full production if the client so desires.
In the fall of 2002 a new 110,000 ft2 facility located in Granite Falls, MN was acquired. Not only did this new facility provide for a safe haven away from the flooding Minnesota River, but brought with it a much improved facility for the heavy steel industries now being supported by SpecSys. The manufacturing move to Granite Falls began late 3rd quarter of 2002, and finalized mid 1st quarter of 2003. The next expansion was March 1, 2005, adding a 15,000 ft2 welding facility located in Redwood Falls, MN. The most recent expansion includes the opening of an engineering office on July 1, 2005, located in Milwaukee, WI.