july2017

162 163 AT A GLANCE ICE CASTLE FISH HOUSES WHAT: Largest manufacturer of ‘fish houses on wheels’ in the world WHERE: Montevideo, Minnesota WEBSITE: www.icecastlefh.com got the luxuries of satellite television, sofas, reclin- ers, fireplaces, big screen TVs. You name it, we’ve got it. That’s getting more families out there; more women involved. You all know about Minnesota winters… they’re cold. People don’t like them. The weather hurts your face. But now, with Ice Castle, it’s giving people the opportunity to go out and enjoy the weather without being stuck in the un- comfortable conditions.” Today, Ice Castle Fish Houses is known as an innovative leader in the recreational vehicle indus- try, but its roots go back to simple beginnings as American Surplus & Manufacturing (AS&M). Drex- ler relates, “It started in 1993 as just a basic surplus store. But my Dad, Jeff, had a lengthy background in manufacturing. He moved to Minnesota from Wisconsin to work at Friendship Homes, which is a mobile home plant. From there he started building wishing wells and storage sheds as a side busi- ness.” Milaca Unclaimed Freight was a dealer for the sheds, and one day in 1997 one of their managers asked, “Why don’t you build us a fish house?”With that single request, the line was cast. Drexler con- tinues, “So, we built a 6 ½-foot-by-12-foot wheeled AMERICAN SURPLUS & MANUFACTURING / ICE CASTLE FISH HOUSES fish house. Just a small one, very basic, and it sold before it even hit the store. From there it started snowballing.What really set us apart was when we started putting in full RV pack- ages four of five years ago. The complete water system–the shower, running water, toilet, sink– so, now our product is used in all seasons.” To date, Ice Castle has built over 20,000 units. Drexler notes that 80 percent of the models they are building now are pre-sold; retail orders re- ceived at the plant by email from a large dealer network. Clients are spoiled for choice with over 40 different models to choose from.At present, the bestselling fish house model is the 8’x16’ Lake of the Woods Hybrid and the bestselling RVmodel is the 8’x17’ Ice Castle RV Edition.