On Fri., Feb. 21 st , Burdick Brothers, Inc. held an open house and lunch. This marked two things: being in business for 40 years, and transferring the business to new owners.
Forty years ago, …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
On Fri., Feb. 21st, Burdick Brothers, Inc. held an open house and lunch. This marked two things: being in business for 40 years, and transferring the business to new owners.
Forty years ago, Burdick Brothers, Inc. was founded by brothers Jim and Eugene Burdick. They lived in Huron at the time, and were looking for a spot to set up shop. It was suggested to them that Redfield could use such a place.
The business started out in the middle of Redfield, and was moved to a building on the far East side. This building went through a couple of expansions over the years. The current structure was built to include office space, retail space, work space, several machines and tools, as well as some outside storage space.
Jim and Deb Burdick ran the company together for several years. They said that the key to a long-successful business was “Good employees and loyal customers.” Many of these customers came by for the open house and lunch. They happily chatted with each other, and with the Burdicks and staff.
Jim Burdick said that they employed 7 people: 5 in the back, and 2 in the office area. One of the company’s special services was balancing. This could be done for large machinery, such as combines. Another service was vibration testing for rotating machines. Clients from South Dakota, and other states, utilized these services. The balancing service clients were from as far away as New York.
A memorable job was building the footbridge which crosses high over Turtle Creek, and connects Redfield City Park with Main Street. Pictures of the work in progress were set out to peruse. Burdick explained that the bridge was over 14 feet tall, so they had to cut into their door frame in order to get it out of the building.
New owners Jason and Tifani O’Daniel were also on hand for the open house. Jason O’Daniel was a long-time employee, and he stated that he enjoyed the work. Tifani O’Daniel came on board more recently to learn the books. The O’Daniels expressed excitement about running the business. They also said that they were looking to hire.
When asked if he was going to retire, Jim Burdick said “probably not.” His stated intent was to stay busy. The Burdicks were ready, however, to let someone else be in charge of the business.
