50 years and still innovating!

News
Written By Kari Campbell

Blog by Emily Pierce, PLS, CFedS

2022 marks Berntsen’s 50th anniversary. Thank you, surveyors for your support over the past half-century. Berntsen has been supporting surveyors for longer than I’ve been surveying.

It’s been an interesting road, and I’ve really enjoyed digging into Berntsen’s storied past.  I’ve come up with a few gems I’ll share with you throughout 2022.  Here’s a quick overview of our history.

1972

Berntsen Cast Products was founded by Peter Berntsen and Phillip Peterson to meet a need described by a friend at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.  The DOT was setting concrete survey monuments and was looking for something easier to handle, lightweight and cheaper. Peter was the right guy to solve the problem, because he ran the Berntsen Brass and Aluminum Foundry in Madison, Wisconsin.  It took three prototypes to come up with the 8.5 pound aluminum alloy magnetic monument that didn’t corrode. 

They popped it into the trunk of their car and attended their first Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors Annual Institute. It didn’t exactly receive rave reviews – the feedback ranged from “There’s a market for this – sales will be difficult but not impossible,” to “What are you going to do with THAT?”

Nevertheless, the newly-formed company, named “Berntsen Cast Products” (AKA Peter and Phil), took their design to the 1973 ACSM Convention at the Washington Hilton. Then Phil began extensive travels across the US, setting the new monuments in Florida, Arizona, Utah and Alaska. The strategy of taking the product to show surveyors in the field paid off. By the end of the decade, they were selling thousands of monuments nationally and internationally.

1975

In just a few years, the product had made such an impact that it was recognized with the the Governor’s New Product Award from the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers. This recognition commended the monument “on the basis of its engineering, ingenuity of concept, functionality, safety, appearance, packaging and contribution to the economy of Wisconsin”.

1978

The innovation didn’t stop with Phil and Peter. Based on a request from the U.S. Government, Bill Rushing, an executive with Berntsen, developed a new way to create cast markers to depict anything that could be drawn.  The Government was working on a project in Saudi Arabia that called for markers that included Arabic text and the country’s coat of arms.  At the time, lettering on sand-casted survey disks was done by gluing zinc letters to a wooden pattern, while artwork was actually engraved on the disk after production. This process was expensive and time-consuming.  Drawing on his years working in magazine publishing, Bill adapted letter-press processes to creating sand molds for metal disks. Soon surveyors from all over the world were ordering markers with custom designs that Berntsen was able to produce quickly and at low cost using Rushing’s new method.

These innovative survey disks were used in a top-secret surveying project in Florida – now known as Disney World. This article describes the surveying project with a sidebar describing the use of Disney-branded surveyor disks.

1979

A future surveyor was born – Emily Carroll (now Pierce). I was a geography enthusiast who parlayed that early affinity into a career in surveying.  I graduated college in 2001 and became a licensed surveyor in 2005. My surveying career includes working as a county surveyor, as well as surveying on Native lands and working for private surveying firms.

1981

Berntsen Cast Products became Berntsen Incorporated to reflect its growing stable of products based on feedback from surveyors and understanding of how the nation’s infrastructure was being managed.

1985

A new approach to manufacturing metal caps and markers was adopted after extensive testing. A new Swiss-made Schmid 2,000 ton Orbital Forging press was installed and began crafting aluminum and lead-free bronze alloy markers in a fraction of the time that sand casting took. This cold-forging process gives metal a grain like wood, making it stronger, more durable and better looking than traditional cast products.

In addition, Berntsen uses computer-controlled engraving, milling, turning, cutting, and other automatic machines custom-designed to make Berntsen monuments, Berntsen has a complete shop and make our own custom tooling. It’s a big change from the early days when Berntsen was housed in half of a two-car garage with a drill press and a pipe cutter for power tools.

1988

The patented Top Security Rod Monument was awarded the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers Governor’s New Product Award which recognized Berntsen “for its economic contributions to the State of Wisconsin through professional engineering initiative and innovation.” 

Client feedback led to this invention – surveyors on the National Geodetic Monument noticed that rod monuments tended to vibrate apart, which led to the patented rotating sectional rod concept. This unique twist on a rod monument is composed of a drive point and sectional rods, a finned rod and a compression-fit or screw-on cap.  The final design increases the stability of the marker, making it ideal for high-precision geodetic and GPS surveys. A sleeve can also be added to the monument, further preventing horizontal movement of the monument over time.

Here’s a great article about how a geospatial reference system was established in Iraq by the U.S. Army 175th Engineer Company, and how the Berntsen Rod Monument was deployed in this effort.

1989

Berntsen Benchmark set on Denali (formerly Mount McKinley). In June of 1989, a team of eight men ─ formally called The 1989 Mt. McKinley Global Positioning Expedition ─ set out from a base camp to perform one of the most unusual survey projects the world has ever seen.

Their mission was to verify, by the most sophisticated satellite positioning methods, the true summit elevation and position of the highest mountain peak on the North American continent, Mount McKinley. The project involved hundreds of hours of planning, thousands of dollars in costs, the use of the most up to date global positioning equipment to track several special military communication satellites orbiting the earth . . . and one Berntsen Survey Monument, which was placed precisely at the summit.

1990

International added to Berntsen’s name – Berntsen International, Inc. Less than 20 years after Phil and Peter’s company was born, it was truly “Marking the Infrastructure of the World,” from Denali to Saudi Arabia and Iraq to Japan and South America.

1990

Berntsen.com was created and subsequently became an e-commerce site in 2000.

Today, Berntsen.com offers more than 2,000 products, plus customizations.

2005

The Deep1 magnetic underground marker was introduced and is one of the most popular underground markers available.

Deep1s can be located even when buried six feet underground, making them ideal for marking underground utilities, pipes and other facilities so they can be found quickly using a magnetometer.

The DEEP1 consists of a high-strength, permanent magnetic material in a rugged polyethylene color-coded case. If installed properly, the DEEP1 can be located up to 3 to 4 feet (0.9 m to 1.5m) deep, depending on soil conditions.

The DEEP1 Magnetic Markers for surveys have been chosen as an authorized way to mark references to government land survey monuments. They conform to U.S. government instructions for color codes of collateral evidence of cadastral surveys.

2006

Lasting Impressions: A Glimpse into the Legacy of Surveying is published. This book, authored by Berntsen CEO Rhonda Rushing, tells the story of surveying with captivating images and personal stories shared by surveyors across the country. This book truly reflects the beauty of surveying and the reason why so many surveyors love their work – it’s still available here!

2008

Berntsen becomes the US distributor for Rothbucher Systeme, bringing legendary German engineering to surveying accessories. This line of high-quality survey products, including smart targets, prisms and other accessories are designed for precision, durability and usefulness. Rothbucher continues to innovate-- at least four new products will be introduced in 2022 to support laser/drone scanning, BIM and other high-tech applications. View some recent Rothbucher webinars presented by CEO Georg Rothbucher.

INFRAMARKER CONNECTED RFID FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT

The first patent application for the InfraMarker RFID system is submitted. The patent was subsequently issued on February 3, 2015, followed by several more patents, sealing Berntsen’s leadership position in leveraging RFID for infrastructure asset management.

The InfraMarker Solution, combining RFID technology, GPS and smart apps is officially launched ushering in a new era for the management of infrastructure assets.

InfraMarker recognized with awards from the RFID Live! Journal, UK Energy Innovation and Geospatial Excellence Award, and later recognized as a finalist for the Wisconsin Innovation Award.

See the evolution of the InfraMarker Connected RFID Solution in the articles at the bottom of this page.

2020

I joined Berntsen as Director of Business Development, just in time for the introduction of the InfraMarker Web Widget for ArcGIS Online. This amazing little widget links infrastructure assets with their digital records in ArcGIS, streamlining field data collection.

2022

Berntsen turns 50 and continues its commitment to surveyors with great products, support of surveying organizations and support of young surveyors.

Throughout this year, I’ll be sharing some throwback images and tidbits from the past. Plus, stay tuned for some fun contests & activities!

InfraMarker articles over the years:

Kari Campbell
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