Kenny Hartel Retires After 35 Years at Wells Technology, Company Honors Craftsmanship

Kenny Hartel retired recently after a 35-year career at Wells Technology’s Bemidji plant, leaving a reputation for precision work that helped scale ergonomic air-powered scissors into a global product. The tools Hartel helped manufacture - called air snips - were originally invented for processing chickens and later found use “on everything from poultry to rose bushes,” the company and local reporting note.

The Pioneer republished notice of Hartel’s retirement on March 2, 2026, highlighting that Hartel’s “precision and expertise transformed the way air snips are assembled” and that he left “a legacy as a true craftsman and innovator.” Wells Technology founder Andy Wells credited Hartel’s work with a measurable workplace benefit, saying, “Our tools that Kenny made saved a lot of people from the ergonomic problems of carpal tunnel. They were using hand scissors before, and that was really difficult on the hands and the wrists. So these tools that Kenny made helped keep a lot of people healthy.”

Wells Technology was founded in 1989 by Andy Wells, a member of Red Lake Nation, and began with a stated mission to solve industry challenges while creating opportunities for Native American communities. The Bemidji company has expanded into what the company describes as a leading firm in precision Computer Numerical Control machining, supplying tools and components that have been “distributed around the globe.”

Hartel’s role was operational and technical: after Wells invented the ergonomic air-powered scissors, the company needed someone who could help mass-produce them. The Bemidji reporting credits Hartel with assembling those air snips in a way that enabled wider distribution and broader applications beyond the original poultry-processing intent. Hartel’s work is tied directly to the product’s ergonomics and the company’s export reach.

Wells Technology’s own news page carried a post titled “Dedicated Craftsman Kenny Hartel Retires After 35 Years at Wells Technology Inc.,” and the company site continues to show industry-facing activity, including a notation to “Visit us at MD&M West: Booth 536” and a reference to Andy Wells receiving a “Magic” Johnson Healthcare Business Award. A staff photograph labeled “Kenny Hartel at work.jpg” appears in local coverage and in company materials as an available visual asset.

Hartel’s retirement closes a 35-year chapter at a firm that ties local manufacturing skill to a broader mission and international markets. Wells Technology’s combination of precision CNC capabilities, company recognition, and ongoing trade-show presence suggests the Bemidji plant will continue building on the manufacturing processes Hartel helped refine.