The Nelson Company to hold 50th anniversary celebration Saturday

FAIRFIELD — The Nelson Company in Fairfield is celebrating 50 years in business this year, and to mark the occasion, it’s inviting the public to visit its facility for a picnic and tour on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The Nelson Company is located at 1200 W. Stone Ave. in the northwest part of town. The celebration will last from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will include a catered barbecue, bounce house for kids, door prizes and guided tours of the manufacturing plant.

Saturday’s event will give residents a chance to see the facility that The Nelson Company has called home since 1993, when it moved out of what is now Paint-Line at 607 W. Grimes Ave. The 1990s were a time of tremendous growth for the company, when it ballooned to almost 150 employees. Since then, it has refined its manufacturing techniques and can now produce the same output with a staff of about 50 employees.

The year 1993 is also significant because that is when the company’s current president, Bob Bowman, started working there. Bowman was fresh out of high school when he joined, and started as a machine operator. He went into inspection the following year, and about a decade later, became the quality control manager when the former manager retired. In 2018, the sales manager retired, and Bowman took over that role as well.

When the company’s president stepped down in 2020, Bowman took the reins of a company where he had worked for 27 years. Bowman said that, with each new occupation at the company, he was able to learn on the job very quickly. Stepping into the role of president was intimidating at first because of the immense responsibility, but he’s managing it well.

“The most challenging part of the job is leaving work at work,” Bowman said. “I think about work more than I used to in other roles. We have our everyday struggles of trying to get enough staff. Finding operators is difficult. Getting products has been a pain because everyone has been behind.”

Bowman said the company is looking to hire seven more workers for open positions. On the supply chain disruptions, he mentioned that certain materials that used to take eight weeks to deliver now take up to 36 weeks.

“Getting castings on time has been a problem,” he said.

Luckily for Bowman, he’s able to get advice from the company’s founder, Pete Nelson, who remains active with the company and serves as chairman of its board of directors. Nelson founded the company in 1972 after working out of his garage for six months.

“Prior to 1972, it was just me doing consulting and a little machining here and there,” Nelson said.

The first employees to work for Nelson were members of his family. His wife, Susan, was the secretary, and two brothers-in-law, Ron Holt and Ernie McCreedy, were vice presidents. Other early employees included Ted Chapman, a student at Parsons College, Stan Parsons and John Weissheier.

In 1970, Ford decided to shut down laundry manufacturing in three cities, including its plant in Fairfield. Nine members of the plant, including Nelson, pooled their money and bought the plant, incorporating it as The Dexter Company. Nelson had worked there since 1967, and was director of manufacturing from 1972-1981. He said he started The Nelson Company in 1972 to pay his share of the stock.

“I hedged my bets, and started a company I thought could make money,” Nelson said.

Today, the company produces parts and castings for companies all over the country and the world. Some of their largest customers include C&H and John Deere, and local companies such as Dexter Laundry, Faircast, and Paint-Line.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com