Plastech owner offers college tuition to high school seniors

While the CEO and owner of a Rush City, Minn.-based custom injection molder never attended college, he is giving the opportunity to local high school seniors who might otherwise not have had the chance.

Dennis Frandsen, CEO and owner of Plastech Corp. and founder of parent company Frandsen Corp., announced in April that he is offering two years of paid tuition, as well as $1,000 toward textbooks and supplies, to Rush City High School seniors to attend Pine Technical and Community College in nearby Pine City, Minn.

Rush City School District Superintendent Teresa Dupre said the high school has 59 seniors with 100 percent expected to graduate on June 3. Max Anderson, recruitment and admissions specialist at Pine Technical, said the college expects about 30 Rush City High School seniors to accept the scholarship and attend school in the fall.

Frandsen's aid is good for "a six-semester scholarship — summer, fall, spring, summer, fall, spring — for whatever students want to go for," Anderson said.

"We have a lot of students that are planning on coming with this scholarship that were traditionally looking into a four-year school and are now coming to work on the AA program," Anderson said, referring to an Associate of Arts degree. "We also have a lot of students who were either planning on going into the trades or had no idea what they wanted to do who are now going to come, even just for a one-year welding diploma. It's the whole range."

Anderson said the programs at PTCC that Rush City seniors can consider for study are welding, machining, nursing and an Associate of Arts degree of general education credits.​

In a city of an estimated 3,086 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, 85 percent have a high school diploma or higher but 17.6 percent have at least an associate degree or higher. Less than 10 percent of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.

"The scholarship opens up a world of opportunities for students that otherwise may never have been able to afford college and/or to not accumulate unmanageable debt," Dupre said in an email statement, adding that 25 percent of Rush City High School students made the honor roll this year.

Frandsen said he was working in Webster, Wis., with some teen boys, ages 13 to 17, as advised by a local judge. He took them on a tour of PTCC and a factory, as well as to McDonald's for "hamburgers and malts." Anderson said Frandsen "wanted to show these boys that there's an option in their area to go to school."

"He brought them here and said, 'I don't know that I've been on campus in a long time,'" Anderson recalled. "He really started to fall in love with it. He said, 'This might be a great opportunity to help out a little bit more,'" referring to Frandsen's scholarships to PTCC.

Frandsen said he was reading Reader's Digest when he learned that there's $1.4 trillion of student debt in the United States, which further led to him wanting to make a difference.

"How in the world can they get out of college and pay off that debt? It's not forgiven. … And we're going to have a huge number of our college students getting out [of school] and just be strapped trying to pay off this," he said. "I thought about the students at Rush City High School, and I realized that some of them … probably shouldn't go to a regular college. I made an offer to every student at the school."

Rush City High School seniors received a letter in the mail earlier this spring from Frandsen about the opportunity. A couple days later, they received information in the mail from PTCC. Information sessions were held April 11 and 12 for students to learn more about the school and the requirements to receive the scholarship. Roughly 60 students and parents attended the sessions.

Frandsen announced on May 16 that he will extend the PTCC scholarships to the graduating class of 2019.

Frandsen was raised on a dairy farm outside of Luck, Wis., with parents who had eighth-grade educations, according to "The Frandsen Story" on Frandsen Corp.'s website. Following high school graduation, instead of taking an office job, Frandsen continued logging and selling lumber on his family farm.

Frandsen met banker Walter Jensen, who decided to fund his lumber endeavor, Frandsen Lumber Co., in the 1950s. In 1961, Frandsen purchased a partial interest in injection molder Star Tool Co. By 1963, he was president and majority owner. Star Tool Co. became Plastech Research Inc. and later Plastech Corp., a custom injection molder.

Today, Plastech Corp. of Rush City, Minn., runs 43 presses from 30-1,500 tons and employs 300 workers. Injection molding sales are $65 million, and it has 400,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space.

Frandsen has overseen more than 50 corporate acquisitions of banks and manufacturing entities. Today, along with Plastech Corp., Frandsen Corp. owns Industrial Netting, Miller Manufacturing Co., Kelley Beekeeping, Springer Magrath, DF and Co. Inc., and Frandsen Financial Corp.

Although Frandsen is 84, he said he has no plans of retiring or slowing down. In addition to being owner and founder of Frandsen Corp., as well as CEO and chairman of its board, Frandsen makes sure to give back to the community. According to "The Frandsen Story," 80 percent of Dennis and wife Jeanette's estate will be given to charity.

In 2015, he donated a hangar at the Rush City Regional Airport to the nonprofit Lakes Region EMS. Frandsen also donated $100,000 and had an interior designer come in and remodel everything for the crew.

At the end of 2017, Frandsen gave $50,000 to PTCC.

Frandsen said entrepreneurs who have the ability to give back to others should do so.

"Mr. Frandsen is an inspiration to everyone who meets him," Dupre said. "His values of hard work and 'doing the right thing' are lessons we all benefit from. Our students are truly fortunate and will forever be grateful for this amazing opportunity."