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The mothers of invention
It's a true family affair. Born out of necessity and inspired by their five kids younger than 5 years old, sisters Kari Northeim and Katelynn Dinslage co-founded Carry You, a Lakeville company creates accessories that give strollers more organization and storage capability. They formed the company in March 2005 and since then have added younger brother James Truckenmiller to the mix. All three are Iowa State graduates and have engineering degrees. Katelynn, blessed with her grandmother's sewing skills, created the first prototypes, Kari handles the marketing and James the company's website and e-commerce functions. The company now has eight products and two patents pending. The product line includes drink holders, snack trays and storage organizers that fit on nearly all stroller models. All are made from 1000 denier nylon for durability and easy cleaning. The latest product, the Piccolo Small Snack Tray, was introduced in April.
The fledgling company got a big boost after being warmly received at the ABC Kids Expo in September 2006, where they signed up 42 retailers. The products are available at the company's website, www.carryyou.com, and three local retail locations: Baby Grand in St. Paul; USA Baby, Richfield; and EliteCarSeats.com, Minneapolis.
Communicating on the move with Above-Net
Above-Net Inc. is a manufacturer of mobile communication and computing devices based in Minnetonka. The company makes mobile terminals and customizes them for certain tasks and industries. The devices are designed for financial, distribution, health care, education, defense, retail and hospitality industries. Their latest product, TopExec, is a tablet PC that has the power of a PC and the weight and dimensions of a portable device.
Roughly 9 inches by 7.5 inches and a little more than 2.5 pounds, it has an 8.4-inch screen and comes in a variety of memory sizes and disk drives. Data can be input through a screen-sensitive keyboard and includes other input-output devices. TopExec is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth compatible and can be outfitted with a 1.3-megapixel camera. The MSRP for TopExec starts at $1,825.
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Blog: Patent Pending
Bits of other stuff
AbbeyMoor Medical of Parkers Prairie has received pre-market approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell “The Spanner,” a stent that treats men suffering from urinary problems because of a blocked prostate. Catchy name for a stent. Very vivid imagery. TST Media, a Minneapolis-based software company that specializes in Websites for amateur sport teams, said it [...]
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