Harlan Lehman, president, Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground
Harlan Lehman, who has assumed the role of president of Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground after nearly 30 years in the company his parents started, is working to expand the business nationally particularly with specialty barrier-free and "challenge course" playground equipment.
The Golden Valley-based company, which designs, sells and installs playground systems, has been installing universal or barrier-free playgrounds since the early 1980s, Lehman said, but interest in them had grown in recent years. The company designed and built a universal play structure that opened last year at Edina's Rosland Park.
"It's now a hot thing," Lehman said. "Every community feels it's something they should do. People started to realize they need opportunities for everybody."
He is expecting interest to grow in new "challenge course" equipment, an obstacle course that times users and enables them to track their progress through a smartphone app. "It's like American Ninja Warrior meets the NFL draft combine," Lehman said.
Lehman's parents, Ron and Gail, founded the company in 1978 in their Hopkins dining room. Ron Lehman went into the playground equipment business after his work as parks and recreation director in New Hope won that city a Gold Medal Award from a national group.
Harlan Lehman helped out during summers until, setting aside other post-college plans, he agreed to his father's request to join the company full time.
The company has represented playground equipment maker GameTime, which Harlan Lehman described as "the Mercedes-Benz of the playground business" since its founding.
Customers include cities, counties, schools, day-care centers, apartments, indoor playgrounds and some private clients.
