1910s: Elmer Seibert, working out of his garage, manufactured wrist pins for the Pan Motor Company. Yes, Saint Cloud MN once had an automotive manufacturing plant! Several of these vehicles still exist in operable condition.

1930s: Fred Ickler Develops the Hilger floor sander.

1940s: Many changes for the Ickler Company. Elmer Seibert purchased Ickler Company and merged it with his shop, Seibert machine. Ickler Co. secured government contracts producing products for the war effort. After the war ended, Seibert’s love of fishing pushed him to design and build two products both related to ice fishing the, Ickler ice fishing house stove and folding ice skimmer. Ickler continued to manufacture the Hilger wood floor sanding machine. Ickler also continued to do job shop work.

1950s: A joint design effort with Claire Lantz and Elmer Seibert yielded a cutting edge machine that was able to grind a bifocal lens in a single piece of glass. Ickler began to make optical lens grinding machines. Dick Speiring joined Ickler and eventually became our General Manager. Ickler Machine moved to our current location on 1st Street South behind Division Place Fashion Center.

1960's: Ickler Co. expanded the Optical business to many local firms. We designed and built room sized ovens used to temper optical lenses. Ickler also entered the bearing business. Stanly Tull convinced Seibert to adopt the St. Cloud Bearing firm. Speiring agreed to learn to sell bearings out of the front office. Retail bearing sales remain a large part of Ickler's business today

1970s: When the optical industry needs changed, the company began to focus on dairy equipment. A local dairy brought in a cracked stainless steel homogenizer pump head and asked if one could be duplicated. Though it would be a little over sized for the current equipment, it was agreed that manufacture would be possible. The manufacturing of that first homogenizer block launched Ickler's move into the dairy equipment repair industry.