Duluth, Minn., firm sells and services X-ray equipment

Lake Superior X-Ray, located at 6012 E. Superior St., in Duluth, Minn., is the only locally owned X-ray company in the Twin Ports.

According to Terry Hart, a minor partner speaking on behalf of the firm, Lake Superior X-ray sells and services X-ray equipment and supplies throughout North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Iowa.

Paul Walsh / Living Stones News Terry Hart is one of three Christian owners of Lake Superior X-Ray, located at 6012 E. Superior St. in Duluth, Minn.

Hart, a Christian since he was 9 years old, said, “the Lord’s been really good to us. Years ago we hooked up with a huge buying group.

We have become the X-ray arm for that group, which is in 18 states.”

The mainstay customers of Lake Superior X-Ray are sole practitioners, veterinarians, chiropractors and small clinics. For a complete list of products and service, go to the company’s Web site, lsxray.com, or call (218) 525-3393.

Lake Superior X-Ray is owned by major partner, Scott Murray, and two minor partners, Mark Hamlin and Terry Hart. All three men are Christians. Murray and Hamlin attend Vineyard Church in Duluth and Hart, who has been leading worship music since 1971, attends and leads worship at Duluth’s Prince of Peace Church.

Hart said that it’s an exciting time to be in the X-ray business.

During the next five years, the entire industry will be changing from a film-based analog technology to digital radiology.

“That’s where it is going,” he said. “Many of the big manufacturers are not making film anymore. And it is a good thing because the amount of radiation that you get as a result of retakes is very minimal when you hit the digital realm. You can work on the contrast like working with a photo in PhotoShop. You can enhance the detail.

With digital, there’s no hazardous chemistry, so it will be a more ‘green’ industry.”

Quality service is the hallmark for this X-ray firm. Hart, who has been the sales and marketing director for Lake Superior X-Ray since he came on board in 1995, said that basically every company sells the same product and “if we don’t have top-notch customer service, we have nothing to sell.

“We answer to a higher calling,” he added. “We’ve got to be men of our word. We’ve got to do what we say and say what we do. We have to under-commit and over-deliver. Where you have to step up to the plate is in customer service and following through with your word. That’s the bottom line.”

Bergquist Chiropractic in Superior, Wis., has been a customer since Lake Superior X-Ray opened in 1989. Dr. Mark Bergquist said that since then he hasn’t used any other company to purchase X-ray equipment and supplies.

“I knew Scott and Dave (David Vereecken was one of the original owners) well,” he said. “Terry Hart has been a nice addition. He lives in my neighborhood, and I’ve worked with him a lot. When I need something, they are there on the spot, or when I get in trouble, they are always there.”

According to Hart, the company has grown six times since 1995. He quoted Proverbs 22:1, “‘A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver and gold.’ We’ve even referenced this in some of our ads.”

Lake Superior X-Ray has 14 employees and is primarily a Christian staff, according to Hart.

“We are open to having staff Bible studies and prayer meetings,” Hart said. “On occasion we pray together, but it is not a regular thing. If we are going to have a meeting, we frequently have prayer before the meeting. When business gets tough, we seem to pray harder.

You can hear Christian radio stations playing at some of the desks.

“I can’t imagine life without God.”