In the 1930s Fred Ickler was an employer of Hilger Co. of St. Cloud, Minnesota. He was involved in the design of a new floor sander. Promises of compensation were not kept and a lawsuit followed; see our entry for Hilger Co. for more details.

In 1940 the St. Cloud Sanding Machine Co. was manufacturing floor sanding machines. This business was operated by Fred Ickler. That company seems to have been short-lived: all the data points we can find are from that same year.

There is a fifteen year gap in the records, from 1940 to 1955, where we find no solid data points on Ickler, but the business was apparently active as Ickler Co. The history on their website says that in the 1940s a new tabletop bench sander was developed by Elmer Seibert, of Seibert Machine Co., for Ickler Co. Fred Ickler died in 1948 and eventually Seibert bought the Ickler Company and merged it into the Seibert Machine Co., with the merged company retaining the Ickler name.

The Ickler tabletop bench sander is still available today.

Information Sources

• 1940-07-25 Hardware Age, page 373, lists, under "MACHINES, Sanding, Surfacing and Edging, Floor, Electric": "St. Cloud Sanding Machine Co., St. Cloud, Minn. 'Five Star General'".
• 1940-08-08 Hardware Age, page 81.

  Firm Makes, Distributes Sanding Machines

  Fred Ickler is now operating his own business, the St. Cloud Sanding Machine Company, manufacturing and distributing sanding machines and floor maintenance equipment. He was formerly with the Hilger Co., St. Cloud.

  The main item of the line is the "5 Star General Sander." The "General" is an all-purpose machine. Sales will be made mainly through jobbers and distributors, and will be supported by advertising which is now being prepared. Factory and offices are at St. Cloud, Minnesota. The company will also manufacture and distribute floor sander parts and attachments for the trade.

• Other than the above mentions of the St. Cloud Sanding Machine Co., we can find no other ads, articles, directory listings, or other mentions for that firm.
• 1949 Directory of Minnesota Manufacturers and Guide Book to Minnesota Industry, page 204, lists "Ickler Sanding Machine Co." under "St. Cloud". This is the earliest mention of this name that we can find.
• 1957 issue of Hardware Retailer (Volume 92 page 415) lists "Ickler Co 1917 St Germain St St Cloud Minn" as a provider of sanding machines.
• Findagrave.com entries for Fred Ickler (1892-1948) and Elmer A. Seibert (1899-1980).