Part of the company that started in the Breezy Point area as Ricka Manufacturing has been passed on to the third generation of owners.

Amanda and Jason Sifferath, along with Alisha and Kyler Beal, have taken over the dock installation portion of the business. Amanda and Alisha are daughters of the most recent owner, Jim Spielman.

"My grandpa started it as a manufacturing business in the early '70s," Amanda said. "It was bought by my parents, Jim and Terri Spielman, in 1988, and they continued with making dual wheel adapters and fiberglass work and then my dad started making steel dock sections. Once he started making the dock sections people asked if he could install it, and so it kind of rolled into that."

Dock installation grew to the point that Jim stopped making dual wheel adapters and fiberglass work. Today he still provides service under the Ricka Manufacturing name; however, the Sifferaths and Beals are now in charge of Ricka Dock Service, which they decided to take over when Jim wanted to get out of dock installation.

"Jason (and Kyler have) kind of been working for my dad in this for the past 10-plus years," Amanda said. "It's kind of become a family thing. My grandpa started the business from scratch and it evolved, then my parents bought it and we kind of thought this was the natural thing to do. We didn't want to see it go away."

The company operates on Pelican and Ossawinnamakee lakes with more than 200 accounts. Amanda said she and her family kept the business going for so long in part because of the appeal of going to work on a lake.

"We have great customers that are always appreciative of our work, and that makes it desirable work," Amanda said.

The company has been using technology to enhance operations over the last several years. This includes applications on phones to manage appointments and to provide directions to the proper lake lots.

Last summer, Jim invested in a drone so he could photograph the location of all of the docks. Using those photos this year, the crew of approximately six people will be able to place docks in the exact same location as the previous year.

Amanda said her dad is the main reason the business has stood out for years, and his family plans to continue to operate alongside him with his principles and practices in mind.

"He's a very respectful and responsible man that is always helpful and always says yes to what needs to be done and to help people out," Amanda said. "If there was ever a problem, they would call and he'd be there to fix it. He's just really a helpful kind of person. That's why his business has grown to where it is, because of his dedication to customers. We feel we are part of that because of Jason and Kyler being part of his crew for the last 10 or more years."

Travis Grimler may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Travis.