Menu
Success stories -- Rural Institute 'mobile workshop' visits area industries
Southwest Nebraska spotlighted its business success stories with "mobile workshops" during the three-day 2004 Nebraska Rural Institute.
One of the stops Wednesday was GoLight, a rural Culbertson business that designs and distributes remote-control spotlights for agriculture, marine, law enforcement, fire/rescue, automotive and military applications.
Other stops Wednesday were at Timber Creek Homes, Stratton; Veils Unlimited, Wauneta; and Land-a-Life Farm and the Pioneer Cafe, Palisade.
GOLIGHT
CULBERTSON -- Jerry Gohl, owner of GoLight, said his company started after he struggled to check heifers, cows and calves in a raging blizzard in 1993.
"Trying to save the lives of my livestock at night was excruciating," Gohl said, who was prompted to develop a revolving spotlight that would mount on the cab of his pickup, and be controlled from inside the cab.
What came next was market research and product development, working with a product development engineer, finding funding and manufacturers.
GoLight now has three factories -- two in Taiwan and one on Mainland China -- which manufactures all the lights, mounts and remote controls.
Twelve employees in the shop west of Culbertson -- in the former gym of the Nebraska Christian Childrens Home -- are responsible for sales, marketing and distribution of the finished products shipped from Asia.
For the first two years, Gohl said, the company made and offered only the original spotlight. "We've developed new products because of the needs and comments voiced by our distributors and our end users," Gohl said.
TIMBER CREEK HOMES
STRATTON -- Timber Creek Homes in Stratton is based on co-owner Charles Pelkey's belief, "There is no reason we can't build a better-quality house in a factory."
Pelkey told those on the Rural Institute mobile workshop that Timber Creek Homes are better built than houses built on-site because of quality materials, superior building techniques, a controlled environment and an excellent work force.
Timber Creek Homes are upscale, Pelkey said, and appeal particularly to home builders in the mountain and resort areas of Colorado.
"We get a tremendous amount of referrals," Pelkey said. "Someone sees a Timber Creek Home going up, and, because we have such a unique product, there's only one place they can come -- to us."
VEILS UNLIMITED
WAUNETA -- Willa McBride, owner of "Veils Unlimited" in downtown Wauneta, said, "We did everything wrong. We didn't plan a business," but it happened anyway.
Willa said she and sister alternated between "Oh, we can do this!," and "You won't believe this!," as their wedding veil business got off to an accidental start.
Willa said she and her sister had made the wedding veils for her sister's daughters' double wedding, in Colorado Springs, to save expenses.
"We can do this," they told each other as they looked at finished veils and headpieces, and then purchased their materials at craft stores.
At the wedding, Kelly, -- "the daffy blond niece" is Willa called her -- happened to tell a stranger who inquired about her veil, "Oh, my mom and my aunt make them."
The lady, Willa said, contacted Willa's sister, telling her that she "loved their work and their deign. Show me your line of veils."
Willa said she told her sister, "We can do this," and they designed and sewed several veils. Her sister called back, "You won't believe this," the lady wants to order "our veils."
"We can do this," Willa said ad they created more veils and more samples, and her sister called again, "You won't believe this," the lady want to see "our fall line."
All that was in 1987 and Veils Unlimited has since outgrown Willa's house and a small neighborhood shop. It is now located in downtown Wauneta and designs veils and ships to bridal shops all across the United States.
PALISADE
PALISADE -- Palisade supporter Frank Potthoff said, "Lots of things revolve around the banking institute," in a small town.
Palisade was caught off guard when its bank closed in June 2002, but because of residents' commitment and volunteerism, the community had its own credit union by November of the same year.
It was the consensus of concerned residents, Potthoff said, that the community should look into a credit union, despite the time and effort they were told it would take to get a charter.
After many, many community meetings and many, many meetings with a consultant who walked the group through the paper work, the Pioneer Federal Credit Union, for Hayes and Hitchcock counties, was granted its charter in November 2002.
The credit union now has 370 members, Potthoff said, with $1.3 to $1.4 million in assets. It has made loans valued at approximately $500,000.
It has a $25,000 loan limit, which, Potthoff said, is designed to protect members from a huge loss, yet, he admits, the credit union has lost some loan opportunities, "because a new vehicle costs more than $25,000."
Potthoff said another community project is the "Pioneer Cafe," run now by three hired employees and a staff of volunteers.
"A group of us bought the building and the old worn-out equipment," Potthoff said, when the cafe closed and was put up for sale at auction.
The new owners soon learned, after going through two short-term operators, that leasing the cafe wasn't the best way to go. "So volunteers and three full-time employees run it now," he said.
A core of about 15 to 20 people volunteer their time and expertise, he said, and amass 1,000 to 1,500 volunteer hours each month.
"Don't say it can't be done," Potthoff said, "because it can be done."
LAND-A-LIFE FARM
PALISADE -- Farmers Byron and Deb Alberts investigated greenhouse production and hydroponic growing techniques when the farm economy was severely depressed in the 1980s.
The couple researched the alternative-ag concepts, visited operations in Colorado and Florida, showed their plans to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and found funding with the bank in Hayes Center.
The Albertses started seeding tomatoes in their new greenhouses in December 1986, and, Byron said, "We found out how little we knew."
"In the spring, we discovered I had no time for farming," he said. "I needed six more kids and two more wives to keep up, and neither of those was an option."
The whole process, they discovered, was "way too labor-intensive, and, we were short on production, quality and cash flow."
"But, we found there was a market," Byron said.
In 1988, they learned and used techniques that increased production and quality and decreased the labor.
The couple discovered their favorite variety of tomato and has steadily made changes to improve their operation.
The Albertses raise their tomatoes and vegetables free of chemicals and control insects biologically. They've stopped pollinating by hand and now use bumble bees to pollinate their plants.