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About Our Company And It's History:

Back in 1993, Brian and Ruth Akre were both working full-time.  The husband and wife decided to cash-in their 401Ks, collect as much capital as possible and bet the farm on an invention Brian built.


It all began when the company where Brian was working needed to reverse engineer the parts of a couch for a major furniture manufacturer.  The tedious process centered around complex mathematical equations.  It took two weeks just to spec the couch’s ten parts.  It was obvious to Akre, a better and much more efficient way was needed.  Tapping his solid manufacturing and aerospace engineering background, Akre created the “digitizer.”  Soon, he had created a working prototype.  The digitizer is a long board that stands upright at a slight angle.  Pieces, parts or just about anything can be secured to the board.  A probe traces the parts capturing their geometry. A “brain-pc” then reads and stores the geometric equations and creates a digital pattern which can be used to build a copy of the part to very tight tolerances.

The Digicoder soon allowed Brian and Ruth to open the doors of NEMI (Northern Engineering & Manufacturing, Inc.).  The plant is located in Zimmerman, Minnesota, a small city north of Minneapolis. The building is quietly unassuming.  Even the locals are not certain what NEMI actually creates out of the large white structure.  Propelled by the success of the NEMI Digicoder, Brian Akre, assisted now by his son Jason and several other employees, felt ready to begin the next innovative phase of the NEMI success story.  Enter the NEMI Modular Vacuum Holding Fixtures.

NEMI’s Modular Vacuum Holding Fixtures work by using vacuum pressure from underneath fixtures.  Each fixture has a removable core that allows suction to pass through it; once the fixtures are where they need to be, the vacuumed air creates pressure which seals them in place.  Once sealed, material can not be moved until the pressure is turned off.  The modular “pod-like” fixtures can be created in any size, varying heights and shapes. The smaller pods are mobile.  Older styles of fixtures meant that cuts were close, but not precise.
SignPod
They were also quite large and cumbersome and once made, they were obsolete and too heavy to move around a shop. NEMI’s inventions are light (made from aluminum) and mobile. They can be reused and reformatted for different job needs and can be integrated into customers’ current wet up.

NEMI also specializes in a new form of tool-setting for CNC operations. The NEMI products are less expensive than conventional tool settings making it affordable for manufacturing companies to purchase tool-setters for every machine. That meets customers’ requirement for a more efficient and time-saving operation.

The many NEMI innovations can be applied to a wide contrast of applications.  For the large precision manufacturer to the basement enthusiast, the NEMIJason Sheena Milt family of products are widely adaptable.  The company offers a free 30-day trial period to test the products and see if the applications work better than anything else on the market today.  To date, nobody has returned even one NEMI engineered product.

The versatility of the NEMI product offering continues with several non-related innovations such as their custom fire rings which circle many national forest fire pits and specialized plastic boarding for the specific purpose of cleaning fish and game.

NEMI is a company that delivers.  Through good old American ingenuity, perseverance and dedication, the NEMI family has created a company that customers rely on and have built a reputation based upon trust.  The small town company with a dream has developed into a powerhouse of sought-after products that manufacturing communities can benefit from.

******9-12-2009 to Present******
POWER SOCCER SHOP LIVES ON!!
It is our pleasure to announce new ownership of Power Soccer Shop: The Akre family of Zimmerman Minnesota, Brian, Ruth & Grant. Grant is a Power Soccer player for the "Courage Blizzards" #62;  Brian & Ruth are owners of a manufacturing business in Zimmerman named NEMI. We felt a natural "fit" purchasing this business with Grant's soccer interest & our manufacturing experience. We are excited for this opportunity to continue with the excellent products & customer service provided by Elio & Jessi Navarro, creators of Power Soccer Shop. The Navarro's have been very gracious & eager to turn their business over to another Power Soccer family. It is our intention to enhance this business with new offerings and choices for the many Power Soccer teams! With the explosive growth of the power soccer game, the upcoming 2010 tournaments and Team USA development, and the international play of the 2011 World Cup, we are anticipating great excitement and enthusiasm within the global Power Soccer community. We welcome your questions & comments as we move forward this season. Please visit our new website at www.powersoccershop.com

Brian, Ruth & Grant
GrantBrian Ruth Grant

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