Field Logic is revolutionizing the industry; developed first open-layered, self-heating archery target.   5/8/2006 by Paul Lundgren

The sport of archery has seen numerous innovations. Bows have became lighter and faster. Arrows with mechanical broadheads fly straighter and with larger cutting diameters.

But for many years, archery targets stayed the same. And the new bows and arrows were shredding them like never before.

Like his fellow archers, Larry R. Pulkrabek was frustrated with the foam targets on the market. They were easily worn out by arrow punctures and often so deeply penetrated it was difficult to remove the arrows.

Out of his frustration came the idea for a target made of compressed layers of high-friction foam held together by compression bonds. The result: a target that lasts longer because it stops arrows with friction instead of force.

In late 1997, he started manufacturing the new target out of his garage in White Bear Lake, MN. Called “the Block,” it was the first open-layered, self-healing archery target on the market, advertised as capable of withstanding “thousands of broadhead shots and tens of thousands of field-tip shots.”

In just a few years, Pulkrabek’s company, Field Logic, has revolutionized the archery target industry.

Coming to Superior

Pulkrabek grew up in Pequot Lakes, north of Brainerd, and earned his degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1983. For more than 10 years he worked for National Business Data Systems, selling software packages for large, multi-user computers. That gave him access to a variety of manufacturing plants across the country, allowing him to learn how they operate.

After two years leasing a site in St. Paul, Pulkrabek and partners Chad Stoll and Colleen Carlson decided Field Logic needed to move to either Duluth or Superior to find the workers needed to grow the company.

With help from the city of Superior, the Douglas County Revolving Loan Fund, Minnesota Power and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Field Logic financed construction of its headquarters at 101 Main St., at the end of Connor’s Point.

The 27,000 square-foot plant opened in July 2001 with about 20 employees. At the new venue, the company began manufacturing its own foam at about half the cost it had paid to suppliers. Pulkrabek said the company can produce everything in-house there, except some powder coatings.

Superior established Connor’s Point as an industrial park in the late 1990s. Field Logic was the third manufacturer to move there. Genesis Attachments was first in 1998, followed by Partridge River Superior in 1999 (now operating as a unit of Eveleth-based Woodline Manufacturing).

Field Logic quickly outgrew its new quarters and leased additional space in West Duluth, at 4203 W. Superior St., for two years. In 2005, the company bought a 290,000 square-foot building at 120 N. 12th St. in Superior from wholesale food distributor Reinhart Food Service that once operated as Twin Ports Grocery.

Field Logic uses about one-third of the space at its new manufacturing site and leases the remainder to a half-dozen other companies. The largest tenant is the USG Interiors ceiling tile plant in Cloquet.

Pulkrabek said Field Logic is “potentially” looking to expand its main facility. Jeff Vito, Superior’s public works director, said the company may need to acquire land from the city to expand on Connor’s Point to increase polystyrene foam production.

“They’ve grown far beyond what we envisioned,” Vito said of Field Logic. Mayor David Ross said one of the first things he did after his 2003 election was tour Field Logic’s operations.

“They have a great product and have created a large market for it,” he said.

Fast Growth

Pulkrabek is cautious about offering any statistics about his company. He said when he was working alone out of his garage he could make 25 targets a day. Now, his company produces “considerably more,” enough to fill six to eight semi-trailers daily, he said.

BusinessNorth estimates Field Logic has about 100 employees and could see revenues rise to $20 million in 2006. The company pays its employees salaries in excess of $30,000.

Field Logic operates around the clock: One building is active five days a week, the other seven. Currently, the company is gearing up for its busy season. Pulkrabek said most sales occur in July and August.

Field Logic’s merchandise line has expanded to about 50 items. Its catalog of targets includes the original Block, the Block Bullseye (a layered target with a bullseye); the Block 4x4 (a four-sided target with different facings on each side); the GlenDel Buck (shaped like a buck, with an open-layered foam insert); and the GlenDel Full Rut (the size of a 300-lb. live-weight buck).

Field Logic also began manufacturing “Deercals” in 2002. Designed by Duluth wildlife artist and deer hunter Mike Carlson, Deercals are window decals that depict famous record-setting bucks.

Last fall, Field Logic bought Rocky Mountain Broadheads — a line of arrows with replaceable stainless steel blades — from Waseca, MN-based Barrie Archery. Founded by Robert Barrie in 1978, the company developed blades that were vented for more accurate shooting and had a larger cutting width for more efficient kills.

Field Logic has improved the Rocky Mountain Broadhead technology with two new designs, “the Rage” and the “Snyper Series.” The new “cam action” rear-deploying blade system positions each blade with the cutting edge outward. While traditional blades open from the front, causing arrows to occasionally deflect on angled hits, the new design assures blades are completely open on impact for deeper penetration.

Pulkrabek said broadheads are a minor part of his business that he thinks will grow fast.

“We’ll have a larger ad campaign this year than any broadhead company has ever had,” he said.

The Babe

Field Logic has had no problem finding spokespersons. The company’s targets are considered the industry leader, and archers across the country haven’t been shy about putting their reputations behind them.

“We’ve had tremendous testimonials,” Pulkrabek said. “Everybody in the industry uses our products. And I feel pretty fortunate that I don’t have to pay them to do that.”

Babe Winkelman, the famous hunter and angler who’s spent 25 years on television, said he is indeed proud to endorse Field Logic products without being paid. He acknowledges Field Logic buys advertising supporting his show Outdoor Secrets.

“I do use their products, and they make the best targets on the market,” Winkelman said. “They make a better product and it lasts longer. The Field Logic people have been kicking butt and taking names for some time. They’ve been dominant, and they’re very aggressive in terms of marketing and advertising.

“I think one thing that really helps them is that everybody (who works for the company) hunts. They know first hand what archers need and what the frustrations are. I think that’s the greatest asset they have,” he said.

Field Logic also has eagerly supported growth of the sport. The company opens its shooting range every Saturday for a youth archery league and donates 12 targets to each new state that joins the National Archery in the Schools Program. The program promotes the life-sport of archery in schools across the country, offering an Olympic-style program to physical education curriculums.

Claudia Stevenson, publisher of Archery Focus magazine, said the sport of archery is “booming” worldwide.

“Target archery is incredibly popular,” she said. “It’s really catching on. It’s a family thing. It’s something the kids can do with grandpa. A lot of people are rediscovering the joys of archery.” Asked about Field Logic’s future, she said, “They’ll stay busy.”

Useful Links:

Field Logic

DeerCals

• UW Sustainable Management program exceeds expectations -8/10/2010
• The green office -7/27/2010
• Executive Profile: John Bastian, NewPage Duluth mill -4/29/2010
• Oh what can I wear to work? -4/20/2010
• Entrepreneur turned dealmaker -1/27/2010