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'Hey Culligan Man!'

Subhead
Water treatment business celebrates 80 years of business, 70 years in Luverne, new location on Main Street
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By
Lori Sorenson

Culligan’s ribbon-cutting and open house was a celebration of its new location in the former Palace Video building, but the Sept. 29 event also honored Culligan’s rich 70-year history in Luverne.
Former Luverne resident Rolf Berg has been in the local Culligan business since 1970 and has seen the industry adapt to technology and change its focus through the decades to meet customers’ needs.
Berg’s stepfather, Roy Paulson, started Culligan in 1946 and operated out of his home until the “new” Culligan location was built in 1952 at 114 N. Kniss.
Hugh Maxwell built the two-story brick structure that has had various owners through the years — Russell Forrest, Dave Gangestad, Tom Serie, Mike Jarchow and most recently Randy Sasker.
Culligan has always leased the lower level, and residential apartments were rented out upstairs.
In those early years, city households relied on cisterns for their water, and the water was quite hard.
For those who wanted it and could afford it, Culligan provided portable exchange tanks to treat — soften the water — for household use.
The business provided monthly tank exchanges, picking up spent tanks and delivering fresh ones. The spent tanks would go back to the shop for regeneration.
“There was an overhead door, and we backed the truck right into the building,” Berg said. “We probably delivered 30 to 40 per day.”
Berg said household water use in Culligan’s early years in Luverne was a fraction of what it is today.
“Back then you had wash day, laundry day, baking day … and you took baths on Saturday,” Berg said.
As modern appliances became more prevalent and human water consumption increased, Berg said cisterns sometimes ran out of water.
“We started delivering water from 1,400-gallon bulk tanks when cisterns went dry,” he said.
As a young man, he got his start in Culligan helping deliver water.
“I remember being home from college for Christmas and delivering water from sunrise until well after dark,” Berg said, commenting that water use always spiked around the holidays.
He said Culligan now installs water treatment systems in four-bedroom, four-bathroom homes. “And people today shower one to two times per day.”
As water use increased, Culligan adapted by offering larger, automatic water softening systems, which have improved through the years to “predict” demand and to regenerate only when needed.
Today, the fastest-growing segment of Culligan Water Systems is drinking water treatment.
“People are more conscious than ever about the quality of their drinking water,” Berg said.
“Today, 30 percent of Culligan’s business is drinking water systems.”
He pointed to the crisis in Flint, Michigan, where lead has contaminated city drinking water, and he said those with Culligan drinking water systems weren’t affected.
“This couple had no issue with their water quality,” Berg said. “If this tells us anything about the direction of water treatment, the future’s pretty bright for Culligan.”
Thursday’s open house was a celebration of the new location, of Culligan’s 70th anniversary in Luverne and the 80th anniversary of the Culligan corporation.
“One only gets on chance to celebrate 70 years in business once in a lifetime,” Berg said; reflecting on how the company changed through the years.
“Probably the biggest thing that happened to Culligan was the introduction of the Culligan Lady shouting ‘Hey Culligan Man,’” Berg said. “It was introduced in 1960, and I never tire of hearing it.”
On a local level, the event also honored Gordon Mulder, who recently retired after 13 years as business manager.
Rob Corn is the new service manager, Lorna Vander Linden continues as business operations manager, and Pam Kopp is a sales consultant and water specialist.
Berg said he’s proud of Culligan’s successful history in Luverne. “It has always been a service company,” he said. “That’s still the core value of Culligan Systems — customer service.”
Berg and his wife, Shar, now live in Texas where he oversees the Culligan operation remotely.
The city of Luverne purchased the former Culligan building on Highway 75, along with the deteriorating yellow house to the north. The intent is to demolish both structures and improve the lots for future development.

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