A Depression Era Legacy Still Paying Off

The roots of the success of Agri-Fab were planted during the great depression when Leah Harshman set up Community Industries to help provide employment for members of the Church of Jesus Christ, started by her father in 1871. She set up companies to make candy, sew goods and make agricultural equipment.

The ag equipment company ended up in bankruptcy in the mid 60s and was eventually bought by Montgomery Ward. In 1975 they sold the company to MTD, which planned to close the 250 person plant in Sullivan, Illinois.

I was in Sullivan earlier this week, a town of 4,400, to keynote their annual Chamber Banquet which honored Agri-Fab for all of the contributions that they have made to the community. Sullivan is also well known for their Little Theater on the Square, a wonderful performing arts theater.

Ron Harshman, one of the ex-employees chosen by MTD to help liquidate the plant, developed a business plan to allow them to keep it open. He raised funds from five other local citizens and convinced MTD to lease them the plant equipment from the closed factory and invest in the company. They christened the new company Agri-Fab, intending to do subcontracting in the agricultural equipment field.

Today, they’ve evolved into a leader in lawn and garden tools. They have a joint venture with Sauer-Sundstrand, Hydro-Gear, that is a leader in integrated hydraulic transmissions. Agri-Fab and Hydro-Gear have over 1,000 employees in Sullivan. They give back to their community and are a great example of what a local company can do to benefit their community.

My sixth key is to Maintain Local Control. Hydro-Gear is what can happen to a town that gets this local control. Ron Harshman and his team have fulfilled Leah Harshman’s wildest dreams, creating way more jobs than she could ever have imagined and helping to make Sullivan the progressive town that it is.