I spent a significant part of my childhood at my father’s salvage and steel yard in northern Minnesota, where I frequently played with magnets, whether in my sandbox or while sorting metals at the steel yard.

My oldest brother started a successful company called Northern Hydraulics (now Northern Tool), which sent scrap and damaged tools to my father’s business. Almost 40 years ago, I discovered a magnetic sweeper one day in a scrap box from Northern. I had never seen such a tool before, but it intrigued me. Inspired, I designed a similar product to bring to market. Within a few months, I had developed two sizes of push model magnetic sweepers that began selling in construction magazines. Northern Hydraulics and other major firms started distributing them as well. Within two years, AMK Magnetics expanded to offer various types of magnets, including road magnets for vehicles, handheld magnets, and push-type magnets.

In the early years, we produced everything from scratch using chop saws and drill presses. By the mid-90s, we upgraded to ironworkers, high-volume metal cutting saws, MIG welders, and eventually established our own powder coating operation. We created special molds for aluminum extrusion factories to produce most of our aluminum parts.

AMK has supplied magnets to a widerange of customers, from DIY enthusiasts to corporations like Exxon Mobil and Microsoft. Whether it’s a small handheld magnet for the garage or a large tow-behind sweeper, our company has produced it all. We look forward to continuing to innovate and meeting the diverse needs of our customers for years to come.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout the decades.

Anthony M. Kotula
President
AMK Magnetics, Inc.