History

A brief history of Normatt Products Inc.

Founder:  Matt  H. Riesgraf (riesgraf77@aol.com)
Education: BSME  University of Minnesota   1952 
Job History: Engineering Manager and Designer at Honeywell Avionics Division, Guidance & Controls

Matt Riesgraf founded Normatt Products Inc. in 1968, but the company first started out as Riesgraf Engineering Inc. 

It all started with an initial design of a battery powered toy snowmobile in 1968 by Riesgraf Engineering Inc.. The design was then sold to Polaris in Roseau, MN. 
 
Tooling and Engineering Design was funded by Polaris Industries but done by Riesgraf Engineering Inc.. Robert Bromley, VP of Marketing at Polaris, was influential in getting this toy ordered by Polaris. The initial order was for 30,000 units to be sold to snowmobile dealers as a promotional item.
 
The first model was the 1969 Polaris Mustang replica toy. 

With the large order secured, Matt partnered with Norm Lund who was the owner of Imperial Plastic Molding Company. Norm Lund was an avid snowmobiler, he manufactured a fast snowmobile of his own design called the BRUT. Together they formed a new company called NORMATT PRODUCTS INC. The name came from the combined names of Norman and Matt. 

Piece part drawings & material selections were provided by Matt Riesgraf with help from a draftsman named Bernie Bickman. Polaris provided help on box design, decals, and drawings from their Mustang snowmobile such as the hood, seat and the Mustang logo. 
 
Assembly began in a warehouse in Victoria, Mn in December of 1968.  James Lund was the assembly supervisor. The first production line had six assembly workers. After Polaris approved the first Mustang model, 30,000 units were delivered in December 1968 and January & February of 1969.
 
With Normatt organized and a Polaris deal in the books, Matt Riesgraf then sold the toy to Arctic Cat in 1970, again with help from Robert Bromley who was then VP Marketing of Arctic Cat. The Arctic Cat Panther model was delivered in 1970 to dealers across several states. Again, Normatt had the exclusive license to produce the Arctic Cat replica toy snowmobile.
 
Normatt then courted Bombadier to produce a Ski Doo TNT toy, and they were successful. This deal was made in 1971. Soon after a decision was made to sell Normatt Stock to Jerry Raunhorst. Jerry could provide adequate funding for expansion. Early in 1972 Matt Riesgraf left his full time job as an engineer at Honeywell to run Normatt Products Inc,  Glastech Corp., and  Palm Industries which were other companies owned by Raunhorst.
 
A new plant was built by Rauenhorst at 3725 Country Drive, St.Paul, Mn. It was the headquarters for Normatt Toy Snowmobile production and shower stall production for Jerry Raunhorst's other company, Glastech Inc..
 
In 1972 Normatt added the design and production of toy snowmobiles for John Deere (Both the 400 and 440 models were produced over the ensuing years). Normatt gained the exclusive license to produce the John Deere replica toys. Over 100,000 John Deere toys were sold. This line was very popular. 
 
Normatt added engineering help, while Roger Johnson managed the production assembly. Sales reps were hired and used. Yamaha was also sold in 1972 for a replica of their GP433 model.
 
Rupp was also sold and their Rupp Nitro replica was delivered. 
 
Normatt expanded their toy line beyond snowmobiles to produce the replica of the Winnebago Chieftain Motor Home in 1972. Over 37,000 units were delivered in 1972 and 1973.
 
A decision was made to bring the Normatt toy product line to the toy show in New York. Brochures & new marketing materials showed the expanded product line which included trailers, cutters, and a cox glow plug engine model (still in R&D phase). It was an eye opening experience for the Normatt team in a very difficult marketplace.
 
The only sale that the toy show appearance resulted in was a Hobby Kit Model sale to Kresge, but not much else. The response from the chain stores was disappointing as they commented that “it was too seasonal and limited to just a few states”. They felt the cost was too high for the broader market . Normatt did sell locally to Ace Hardware, Sears, Dayton's, and continued to sell to snowmobile dealers on a regional level.