On a family vacation to Eli, Minnesota in 1970, the potential of a pier business was realized. William Paulson, along with his parents, Walter and Betty Paulson, and two of his sons, William and Rick, were enrolled in a fishing competition. While standing on a creaking and cracking worn dock for 12 hours, Bill thought to himself, "there has to be a better way."
Not much earlier that year, Bill and his sons were visiting Walter and Betty's cottage in Sand Bay, Wisconsin. Walter had purchased a pier to allow him an easier means by which to fish. About three to four times a summer, Bill and his sons would make the 1-1/2 hour drive up to Sturgeon Bay from their home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin to reinstall the pier that had been so easily washed away by the rough waters of Green Bay.
As he and his family were packing up their things that night in Minnesota, Bill spotted a man across the lake driving an old Chevrolet pick up truck into the water. He then saw the man, dressed in overalls, get out of his truck and attach what looked like the frame of an old crane sitting in the water to the front of it. With this, the man got back in his truck and backed out of the water, pulling a removable dock out with him. Bill, after seeing this, and knowing in his mind that there had to be a better way of building piers, drove over and talked to the man .
It turned out that the man was a retired farmer, and in his retirement enjoyed a private business of building docks for residential applications. Bill told his elder, "I like what you're doing with these removable docks here and I think you have a good product. Would you mind if I started building and selling piers like this in Wisconsin?" The man obliged, and through a gentleman's agreement the rights were given to Bill. Thus, out of the shimmer of the setting sun that day in 1970, Port-A-Pier was born.
When Bill returned home, he told his wife, Bonnie, and the rest of his seven children about what had happened in Minnesota. Bonnie, like always, supported Bill, although was a little cautious at first. Rick penned the original designs in two copies, one for use in production, the other sealed to this day in an envelope Bill and Bonnie mailed back to themselves to ensure validity in the designs.
The family had a little single car shed sitting at the bottom of their split-level home in Manitowoc. It was there, that the first 24' Port-A-Pier was built. The prototype model was completed in the fall of 1970.
1971 brought with it the construction of two additional piers. More and more steel was ordered, and the little single car garage sitting at the bottom of the hill was turned into a fabrication shop. The first piers had a towing hitch attached to the front and they were sandblasted and painted safety yellow. These piers had the option of having a white painted or stained cedar deck.
Through the years, modifications were made to the frames to improve the structure, maintenance and overall appearance of the piers. The frames were no longer sandblasted and painted, but instead were galvanized to insure longevity. Analogously, at about the same time the traditional cedar deck was replaced with the maintenance free, recycled, white plastic decking and the zinc nails were replaced with stainless steel carriage bolts. In addition, Floating and Inland Lake Piers were also developed. There was one thing, however, that did not change. That was the pride in craftsmanship, which resulted from a father and his sons building every component from scratch.
In 1993, Bill's son, Rick Paulson, purchased the business from his parents and formed a corporation. Although his title is Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and President, it scarcely touches upon the extent of his actual involvement in Port-A-Pier. Unlike other CEOs in the pier manufacturing industry, Rick is hands-on every step of the way. Whether it be meeting and spending time with customers to answer questions and resolve problems, or sitting at a CAD station designing a new component, Rick is always there insisting on ultimate quality. This type of personality, and a fuel for innovation, leaves new and current clients feeling secure and confident about their future with Port-A-Pier.
