History, Condux International

Condux International, Inc. carries on a tradition of customer service
that began over 100 years ago.

The origin of Condux International started well over a century ago when founder D.W. Radichel relocated his family from Wisconsin to the Mankato, Minnesota area. He purchased a harness shop in 1883, but soon focused his business on the land drainage needs of area farmers.

At the turn of the 20th Century, much of southern Minnesota was marshland-unsuitable for row crops. To prepare these lands for farming, an extensive network of ditches drained surface water. These ditches soon proved themselves to be both a blessing and a burden, for along with the excess water, valuable topsoil was also washing away.

Sensing a need for a cure to this problem, D.W. Radichel sold his harness shop in 1888 and built a concrete drain tile plant 15 miles south of Mankato, which he named North Star Concrete. These innovative drain tiles allowed for surface water removal with little or no erosion. In 1908, the plant was relocated to its present location in Mankato-along the Minnesota River-because of the discovery of high quality aggregates in the area.

1883 Harness Shop

Much expansion and diversification occurred over the next half-century as subsidiary companies were created in other industries: Spancrete Midwest Company (prestressed building materials), Rochester Materials Company (reinforced concrete pipe, concrete block, brick and building materials), Condux Pipe Systems (plastic pipe), Venstar (real estate), and Condux International, Inc. In 1998, the Condux Corporation was broken-up and the concrete divisions of the company were sold to Hanson PLC. During that time, Condux International, Inc. became a separate company when Brad Radichel, a great-grandson of the company founder, D.W. Radichel, acquired the company. The history of Condux International, Inc. spans over one hundred years and four generations.

Multicell Concrete Ducts - 1966	The Evolution of Condux What is known today as Condux International, Inc. was originally conceived in Naperville, IL by an innovator who developed a patented process for manufacturing Multiple Concrete Duct (MCD). The rights to the patent, the machinery manufacturing, and the Naperville plant were acquired by North Star Concrete Co. from Archie Gagne's Gagne Enterprises in 1966. Condux (concrete ducts...spelled DUX) was the name used for the product and the new company's name. North Star had numerous licenses of this process at the product's peak, until plastic pipe began replacing the MCD conduit with less weight and a better joint. Along with the Naperville plant came a small line of cable installation machines. The "Rod King" for cleaning and rodding MCD was developed and launched in 1967. This product was also made on the Naperville site.

. In 1969, North Star Concrete acquired the rights to manufacture another Gagne Enterprise product, an oscillating underground cable plow retrofit package including a plow blade and cable reel which were mounted on a John Deere hydrostatic crawler and sold to long-distance telephone, direct-buried cable contractors. In 1973, the plow, which was now being sold under the name Vibra King, was merged with the manufacturing operations of Condux MC machinery manufacturing in a new 30,000 sq. foot facility located at the present site of Condux International, Inc. in Mankato, MN.

The Vibra King Cable Plow		Condux MCD- 1973

As plastic pipe took over the MCD market, Condux management began to expand the tool line to include new rodding and cable installation products for use in plastic duct.

In the early 1970's, exclusive distribution rights were gained from Tracto Technik Gmb. in West Germany to sell their pneumatic piercing tools (the Grundomat) for trenchless installation of pipe and cable in the United States. The sales, receiving, inventory, and service and repair of this product was handled out of the same Mankato building.

Condux entered the telephone accessory supply business in 1981. A distribution / warehouse location was purchased in Marietta, GA in the early 1980's to distribute pipe and fittings, along with other bought and resold cable installation tools and product lines in an effort to become a national distributor.
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North Star's Winnebago Plastic Pipe
Manufacturing Plant

Manufacturing Plastic Pipe

In 1988, the plastic pipe manufacturing division of North Star Concrete expanded their product offering into electrical and telephone duct, and was renamed Condux Pipe Systems (CPS) to capitalize on the market awareness of the Condux name. After the plant and office were expanded in 1987, the top management of CPS was moved into the upstairs portion of this facility and sales of electrical and telephone duct were handled by the Condux International staff.

The "commodity" mentality of pipe (large revenues, low margins), detracted from the core business of Condux tools, and distribution proved to be location sensitive and foreign to Condux International's core competencies and manufacturing expertise. Vibra King and the US distribution of the Grundomat was sold back to Tracto Technik in 1991, CPS was sold to a Taiwanese company in 1991, and the focus of Condux International was directed solely toward the development of Cable Installation Tools and Equipment. More recent growth has been achieved through the addition of product lines through internal R&D efforts, focused on the cable installer end-user. Overall, the company has been focused, in some capacity, on sales to the telephone industry for most of its 30-year history.		Product Catalogs

. Condux International has greatly expanded its product line over the last three decades; most recently with its venture into the aerial cable installation line with the acquisition of Jackson Tool Systems of Clayton, Ohio. As underground and aerial cable technology changes, new tools are required to efficiently get the job done. Condux International works with utilities and contractors to continue development of innovative aerial and underground cable installation equipment and tools.

Condux International manufactures 90% of the products that are sold in-house, starting the process with the raw materials and ending at the packaging and shipping of the finished product to the customer.

Cable Lasher

Fiber Optic Cable Blower

Over the last few years, Condux International's focus has been on fiber optic cable installation equipment and now on a complete line of aerial cable installation tools and equipment. Among the products designed for these lines are the Fiber Optic Cable Blower, Fiber Optic Cable Puller Trailer, the Condux Lasher, Cable Benders, and Cable Blocks.

With Condux International's roots stretching back to the 1800's, no other company is as well prepared to supply the aerial and underground cable installation needs of the 21st Century.