Roseville Business Making Camp Cooking Easier

Editor's note: The following story was sulbmitted by Century College:

The Century College Fab Lab, where inventors flourish, has changed the life of Century English Prof. Chris Weyandt.
 
About a year ago, Weyandt, a longtime camping enthusiast, took the “How to Make Just About Anything” class in the Fab Lab and came up with a design for a portable, light-weight camp grill/stove.

With help from instructor John Rupert and others in the Fab Lab, Weyandt  produced a prototype of something he now calls the SlatGrill.
 
Since then, Weyandt’s world has changed. In addition to teaching English at Century, he also is producing and marketing the SlatGrill to buyers worldwide. He recently exhibited the product at Canoecopia, a camping and paddler tradeshow in Madison, Wis., and the grill was named Best in Show by Canoe and Kayak Magazine.

The SlatGrill also was featured on the Duluth Pack website as the “Hot New Product for 2012.”
 
“This is a classic example of how the Fab Lab works,” said Weyandt. “When you have a good idea, you can make it a reality. The Fab lab has the machines you need to produce a 3-D prototype. The rest is up to you.”
 
Weyandt has a patent pending for his SlatGrill, which he sells online for $109. He has invested more than $30,000 of his own money to produce the product, and he is starting to see a return on his investment.

Working with a patent attorney, a corporate attorney and an accountant; Weyandt has formed a company called SlatGrills.com, LLC, and he is the president. The company is located at 1769 Lexington Ave N. in Roseville.
 
The big selling point for the SlatGrill is that it is portable and packable. Made of hard-anodized aluminum and stainless steel, the SlatGrill is light and compact. It can be used for camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, horseback riding and skiing. It can be assembled quickly and no tools are required.
 
Weyandt’s marketing materials feature photos of an iron pot bubbling on a SlatGrill that sits over an open fire. Other photos have fish grilling on coals, vegetables roasting on a skewer and mixed vegetables frying on a griddle. The SlatGrill can be used with fuels such as wood, charcoal and liquid stove fuel.
 
As a canoe camper, Weyandt said he was always wishing for a grill that was portable and versatile. The usual fire grates are clumsy, heavy, dirty and hard to clean.
 
“In the Fab Lab, I solved a problem that I had been thinking about for some time,” said Weyandt. He noted that the SlatGrill can be rolled up into its own canvas pack, which can hang outside a backpack, for example.
 
All SlatGrill components are produced in Minnesota, and Weyandt donates a portion of all sales to charitable organizations that promote economic and ecological sustainability. The product comes with a lifetime guarantee.
 
Weyandt introduced his grill at the Midwest Mountaineering camping show last November, where he sold 50 units. He had a booth at the show and did a cooking demonstration.
 
After the show, representatives from the popular Duluth Pack company approached him and said they wanted to carry his product. Now it is being sold through the Duluth Pack Store, both retail and online. It also is being sold online through Piragis Northwoods Outfitters in Ely and Moss Envy in St. Louis Park.
 
“Things have really snowballed because of the exposure on the Internet,” said Weyandt. “I have gotten favorable reviews from all over. It really has gone viral. The site traffic is ballistic.”
 
Weyandt has debuted a new, one-pound titanium SlatGrill and a much larger SlatGrill made of carbon steel for home backyard use on at this weekend's Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Adventure Expo in Minneapolis.
 
“I have never done something so all-consuming in my life,” said Weyandt, who is filling orders himself out of his basement. In addition to American buyers, he has had sales to consumers in Chili, Algeria, Europe and Australia.
 
“It’s all about getting outdoors and cooking with possibility,” said Weyandt. “And it all started with the Fab Lab.”