Many times we can retool an existing product and generate a profit from it. Read how the Upper Peninsula Sauna Company has just done that with a product that is unique to the U.P.
Often, we find the best ideas in our own backyard--in this case, the backyard is the Upper Peninsula and the idea was to build barrel saunas.
Saunas aren't new to the U.P., but they're certainly unique to this region. We can thank immigrants from Finland for that. As the story goes, Finns settled in the U.P., particularly the western end, because the climate reminded them of their homeland. When they came to the U.P. they brought the concept of the sauna with them, i.e., taking a hot steam bath.
"We sell mostly to people who live or have cottages in the U.P. and to those Yoopers who have left the U.P. and moved elsewhere," says Zeak DeWyse, owner of
DeWyse Construction in Engadine.
DeWyse and his competent crew of builders have tapped into the endearing charm of the sauna. In 2013 DeWyse, a licensed contractor and builder of log homes and other structures, was looking for another stream of income to keep the guys working during the off season. This past winter they were faced with cabin fever earlier than usual due to the harsh winter we experienced. That's when their version of the popular sauna--the barrel sauna--was created and perfected, and where the
Upper Peninsula Sauna Company was born.
"It wasn't my original idea," admits DeWyse of the unique construction of the saunas. "I saw one for sale on the west end of the U.P."
He says he also bought one from a backyard mechanic. That original was a little rough; however, DeWyse and his crew of four tradesmen were able to use it as a prototype for the handsome saunas they build out of locally sawn white cedar. The saunas will look great and function well in any location: outside a home, cottage or business.
"These guys can build anything," says DeWyse of his team of builders, who spent many hours this past winter perfecting their newest product. DeWyse says one thing they had to perfect was the stove. It worked well during the cold weather, but had a problem with the draft when it got warmer. He said they corrected the problem in each sauna they sold by installing a larger stove pipe.
DeWyse, who moved up here from downstate several years ago, and has vowed to never leave, says he's proud of the fact that the saunas are made right here in the good ol' U.P.
"It's been a long time since sawn lumber has left this area," says DeWyse. He says right now they're purchasing the white cedar they need from three local mills: B & B Woodmizing in the Germfask area, Tuttles Cedar Yard in Gulliver, and Bigger Forest Products in Gould City.
DeWyse says the saunas are a hot item (pun intended!), selling better than expected. So, they're thinking of adding other products in the same vein as the saunas. He contributes part of that success to good marketing: his son does marketing via social media, particularly Facebook, which he says has generated about 30 percent of their sales; 60 percent of sales comes from taking the product out on the road to events and fundraisers, like a polar bear fundraiser held over the winter, and the other 10 percent comes from their existing customer base.
The saunas are "sweat ready," according to DeWyse, which means if you buy one of these babies you'll have everything you need, except your favorite beverage and a bathrobe for when you trot through the snow back to the house! For $4,000 you'll get a six or seven foot portable sauna, the wood fired stove, ladle, granite rock, solar lights, pail to pour water over the rocks, and hydrometer. He says you can pick one up in Engadine or they'll deliver it to your home.
Neil Moran is a freelance writer in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and owner of Haylake Business Communications. You can find him on Twitter at @moranwrite
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