In the 1980s, Dura Supreme was in an expansion phase,. They were making improvements to the front office and main entrance to the building, and as part of the renovations they ordered new exterior/front doors – which are still in use today – from a local company in North Dakota. 

The supplier had driven a truck from North Dakota to Howard Lake, Minn., to deliver the doors. As he was unloading his truck, he asked Steve Anderson, a facilities technician and a 50-year veteran of the company (see 26,298,720 minutes = 50 years = a life-long career), if they’d be so kind as to let him bring his cat in for a drink of water … it had been a long drive and he was thirsty. The team said, of course, and shortly after that had the surprise of a lifetime.

The “cat” was actually a Siberian tiger. Several people working that day got to meet the supplier’s furry friend. 

Steve Anderson is not in the tiger picture but the current Production Manager, Dan Knutson is the man in the flannel shirt standing behind the printer. Roy Scherer, the gentleman to the front right that is glaring white and blurry, retired in 2007 and was the Treasurer working alongside Don Stotts (the founder of Dura) for many years. The two men on the right were in for interviews that day and were quite shocked to see the tiger.