Finnish auction house takes over Wisconsin mink trading hub
Chris Hubbuch
STOUGHTON, Wis. (AP) – Under the harsh light of fluorescent bulbs in an unadorned warehouse, Claudia Manzanilla picks up a stiff mink pelt and runs her fingers along the silvery fur.
In less than a second, she assesses the length of the fur, sorts it and grabs another seemingly identical pelt from a pile of stiffened animal skins.
The evaluation is one step in an elaborate process to grade the furs provided by American mink farmers before they re sold a step that almost didn t happen this year.
Last fall North American Fur Auctions, a 350-year-old Canadian company with offices in Stoughton, entered court-supervised restructuring, closing one of the primary market portals just as Wisconsin mink ranchers were beginning their harvest.