Extreme Sandbox, a 10-acre playground where grown-ups can drive and operate full-size construction equipment for fun, officially launched its expanded facilities last week.
The Hastings attraction previously operated out of a trailer. It has now completed a 6,300-square-foot building at 1901 Glendale Road.
Most of it is used as a garage for the excavators, bulldozer, skid steerer and fire truck that patrons play with. But the building also houses a banquet area that can seat 200, a gift shop, indoor spectator area, training room and offices.
Owner Randy Stenger said he is hoping the new facilities will allow him to expand Extreme Sandbox's bookings for large groups, including corporate events.
The attraction, the only one of its kind in the Midwest, also has proved to be popular with individuals in search of an offbeat way to have fun.
Small business honor
Karai Chinniah Sukumar, president and CEO of TAJ Technologies, Inc. in Mendota Heights, was recently honored as the Minnesota Entrepreneurial Success of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The award is given to individuals who own or operate a business initially defined as "small" by the agency that developed into a large business with the help of SBA loans and programs.
Sukumar was born in India and came to the U.S. in 1973. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Minnesota and later worked at Control Data Corp. He was laid off in 1986 when the company downsized. He started TAJ Technologies, an information technology consulting firm, the following year.
