Star Seed plans celebration since rebuilding from $6 million fire

Aug. 15--OSBORNE -- There were some long faces at Star Seed 18 months ago after fire destroyed the processing plant, warehouse and offices, jeopardizing 23 jobs.

But there were some blessings, as well.

Emerging from the ashes was a new, modern and more efficient plant with more office space, and Star Seed has since added five more jobs.

"We ended up with better facilities," said Tom Lutgen, company president.

"The other blessing is you learn about humility," he said.

The company, which started in 1920, has been in Osborne for 85 years and has been part of the Lutgen family since 1946. After the fire, it found it had friends in Osborne and throughout the seed business community.

Since rebuilding, Star Seed has tripled its seed-cleaning capacity. The company cleans wheat, oats, barley, rye, triticale, alfalfa and clover, also prairie grass, native grasses and wildflowers, as well as lawn grass and food-plot mixes. Star Seed sells to seed dealers and distributors in 25 states.

Everyone pitched in

Firefighters from several towns showed up to fight the blaze, while the intense heat obliterated inventory and caused blue and red rubber containers to melt like candle wax. Individuals from Osborne pitched in, as did businesses.

"We had a lot of people who brought us meals for two weeks as we dug out from the fire. A lot of friends -- competitors and mutual suppliers -- in other seed companies, helped us set up inventory, processed seed for us, loaned us equipment. It was phenomenal," Lutgen said. "They're our best friends."

Grand opening

A facility grand opening celebration is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 22.

The public is invited to enjoy a catered meal from Plum Creek Meats, Beloit. Sen. Pat Roberts was confirmed to attend until he was injured and had to change his schedule, Lutgen said.

Lutgen's father, Leon, 85, will attend, as will Tom's uncle, Barry Munsey, 75, a longtime employee, and Tom's brother, Dennis, who's in his 50s. All are from Beloit.

Customers are like family

Leon Lutgen began at Star Seed at age 16 in 1946, invested in the company in 1969 and bought it in 1975.

Tom Lutgen singled out Bob Hamel, one of the owners and leaders "who helped guide us through the last 18 months."

Lutgen's goal for the grand opening is to properly thank everyone who had something to do with the company enduring the fire and keeping the business viable.

"Our customers are like family. They've been with us since the 1930s and are on their second and third generations," Tom Lutgen said. "We want to show appreciation to them for their 90 years of business."

A lot more efficient

Operations are computer-controlled, and the plant now has a new pallet-racking system for seed storage and quality control that has increased floor space nearly five-fold, according to a company press release. Workers can inventory and store seed on pallets in racks that are four levels tall.

Dust and noise have been reduced, as well.

"We're a lot more efficient," Lutgen said. "We're able to enhance the quality of the product."

Unplug those chargers

Fire investigators determined the fire on Jan. 13, 2014, started when lithium batteries hooked to chargers in the Star Seed shop, "got hot and ignited. It got out of hand before you knew what happened," he said. "I tell everybody that if you have them plugged into your garage, unplug them."

After the fire, the company operated in three separate locations but never had to close. The first two phases of construction should be complete sometime next week, he said, and more new equipment will be added by this fall.

"The fire happened on Monday and we had phones operating on Tuesday," Lutgen said. "That's a testament to to our employees and customers being very loyal."

Had good insurance

The blaze did $6 million in damage, but Star Seed had good insurance, Lutgen said.

"We had to hire an attorney to help us understand what we had," he said. "It took 11 months to get the full claim paid. Our agent did a great job for us."

-- Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by email at [email protected].

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