Success Story
Superior Fishing Products
Based in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the fishing accessories manufacturer received the support needed to grow from Small Business Support Hub MTEC SmartZone
Mark Heltunen has always loved fishing. Some of his earliest and fondest memories have been on the waters of Lake Superior. As he grew older and his fishing hobby became more advanced, he noticed a gap in the market, where many of the products he relied on didn’t fully meet his needs.
After years of putting up with insufficient equipment, he decided to begin fabricating his own solutions. What started as a passion project back in 2020 has grown into Superior Fishing Products, a rapidly evolving manufacturing business right in the heart of the Keweenaw.
“I successfully turned a hobby into a job,” he said. “And I think that’s a good thing.”
Heltunen quickly realized that the demand for custom-fabricated, high-quality fishing accessories was very real. In an effort to expand his product offerings and manufacturing, Mark brought on co-owner Luke Aho, an experienced machinist, back in 2024. Today, Superior Fishing Products, under the broader umbrella of Superior Welding Marine LLC and Superior Advanced Manufacturing, offers precision machining, welding, product design and custom fabrication for both anglers and industry partners.
As the business continued to grow, Heltunen and Aho found themselves running into the same challenge: boat manufacturers constantly updated their designs. Each change forced Superior Fishing Products to remeasure product specs and adjust dimensions to ensure a perfect fit. This process, remeasuring and creating precise, custom solutions, was extremely time consuming.
Many of their accessories, for example, attach to boat gunnels, the top edge of a boat’s hull. Every company uses slightly different gunnel designs, and those designs often change year to year. To deliver proper-fitting products, Superior Fishing Products had to keep up with these frequent updates from major boat manufacturers. Even minor changes can created major obstacles for their team. Initially, Heltunen and Aho were measuring gunnels manually with tape measures and calipers.
“There’s human error, and sometimes we didn’t have access to the newest models,” Heltunen explained. “The real challenge was collecting accurate data quickly enough to keep up.”
In February 2025, Heltunen and Aho turned to MTEC SmartZone, the Western U.P.’s local SmartZone and Small Business Support Hub funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Through a Small Business Support Hub grant facilitated by MTEC SmartZone, Superior Fishing Products was able to purchase a professional 3D scanner. Instead of relying on physical samples or manual measurements, the team can now make highly accurately scans of boat gunnels and other complex parts. These scans create precise digital models, streamline prototyping and significantly reduce design time.
“It’s already a massive help,” Heltunen said. “We have real, accurate data now without the human error we used to deal with. It’s cutting down project timelines and opening the door for future products.”
Although they are still in the early stages of integrating the scanner into their operations, the impact is already clear, with increased precision and time savings transforming their workflow.
The company also participated in 1 Million Cups, a program supported by MTEC, where they received direct access to community leaders, economic development organizations and fellow business owners, receiving feedback and insight to help guide their growth.
“Superior Fishing Products is a great example of how targeted support can accelerate small business growth,” said MTEC SmartZone CEO David Rowe. “Through the MEDC’s Small Business Support Hubs program, MTEC SmartZone was able to provide hands-on assistance that helped refine Superior’s growth strategy, strengthen their operations, and position them for new market opportunities. MTEC SmartZone is proud to support innovative companies like Superior Fishing Products as they scale, create jobs and contribute to Michigan’s outdoor recreation and manufacturing economy.”
As Superior Fishing Products continues to grow, the 3D scanner funded through the Small Business Support Hub will play a pivotal role in developing new products, capturing better data and staying competitive in an ever-changing industry.
Heltunen offers one key piece of advice to entrepreneurs in the region: “Utilize the resources around you. There’s a lot of help out there, especially through MTEC SmartZone. We would have benefited from reaching out earlier.”
A portion of this story first appeared as an MTEC Small Business Support Hub success story.