Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Making a long-term commitment
MacKissic Inc. honors employee for 50 years of service
EAST COVENTRY >> If you ask Bob Reitnour, Aug. 13, 2018, was “just another day.” Reitnour, 71, works at MacKissic Inc., a manufacturer of lawn and garden equipment in East Coventry.
For his co-workers — his “MacKissic family,” however — that date was anything but typical.
It turns out Aug. 13 was Reitnour’s 50th anniversary working for MacKissic — a milestone Reitnour has tried to downplay, despite the surprise luncheon his co-workers at MacKissic recently held in his honor.
“I don’t know why everybody was making a fuss,” he said during a recent interview. “If you enjoy what you do and you enjoy the people you work for — 50 years is nothing.”
Reitnour grew up in the area and attended Owen J. Roberts High School. He has not strayed from his home town — living with Kathaleen, his wife of 48-years, about two miles from the MacKissic facility on a piece of property given to him by his father.
Growing up in the area, Reitnour said he knew Elton MacKissic — the founder of MacKissic Inc. — who was also the former postmaster of Parker Ford.
Reitnour remembers exactly how he ended up working at
“If you enjoy what you do and you enjoy the people you work for — 50 years is nothing.” — Bob Reitnour
MacKissic Inc. after serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
“I got out of the Army on Aug. 7, 1968. I stopped at the Post Office to get the mail and he told me, ‘I have a job waiting for you up the road.’ So I came up — I think it was Monday the 12th and I started the 13th,” he said. “I’ve been here ever since and have enjoyed all my time here.”
Reitnour’s first job at MacKissic was, “shaping the corners of RF units that we built for General Electric,” adding that he did anything that needed to be done.
Since 1999, he has worked in research and development for MacKissic — working to help improve and simplify some of the company’s processes.
During his 50 years of employment, Reitnour has seen expansion, product growth, acquisitions, ownership changes, modernization of equipment and economic
challenges the company has faced.
While Reitnour was reluctant to talk about himself, MacKissic owner and president Rick Dhein was happy to talk about Reitnour’s contributions to the company over the years.
“He has done maintenance on equipment, service calls, warranty work, purchasing, parts and parts shipments,” Dhein said. “He has gone to customers and given training sessions on serviceability and gone to trade shows. He has worked on the literature, he’s been a model and had his picture on our literature.”
Dhein said Reitnour takes pride in the company.
“Bob is our caretaker,” he added.
Elton MacKissic began making bale hooks and plow trip rope releases in the cellar of his home in 1947, selling them to area farmers. He then began making the Farm Caterer, a mobile hammermill and molasses blender. By 1959, he purchased a building on the current site at 1189 Old Schuylkill Road, East Coventry.
From 1964 through 1967 MacKissic had a joint manufacturing agreement with Amerind Inc. and shared the same facility.
MacKissic introduced its first lawn and garden sprayer in 1966 — which launched the Mighty Mac lawn and garden line for MacKissic Inc.
The company continued to expand its product line, according to Reitnour, adding a chipper to the shredder, as well as leaf blowers, stump cutters, vacuums and rototillers.
In 1982, the company was purchased by New Jerseybased Inductotherm Inc. MacKissic remained in East
Coventry with its focus still on lawn and garden. Over the next 20 years, the company purchased the Merry Tiller line of products; and the Easy Auger line of hydraulic post hole diggers.
In 2003 the company returned to local ownership when long-time MacKissic employee Dhein purchased the company from Inductotherm.
In 2013, MacKissic acquired Yard Marvel Manufacturing, which produced roto tillers, power rakes and aerators.
With each acquisition, production was moved to East Coventry.
Dhein said he has been able to modernize what he has referred to as a “pretty antiquated” operation — investing in new and more automated equipment.
The U.S. is MacKissic’s largest market, according to Dhein, but the company ships to 40 different countries.
“We couldn’t have competed around the world, without the investments,” he said. “And we’re able to do it in our world headquarters of Parker Ford, Pennsylvania.”
According to Dhein, MacKissic brings in raw steel, processes it, does the powder coating, assembly, warehousing and shipping.
“We buy engines and tires, but the basic unit we make. That’s unusual today. A lot of people fabricate only or assemble only — we do it all,” he said.
Dhein added that while the manufacturing equipment is advanced, the products themselves haven’t changed dramatically, beyond some adjustments to meet safety standards.
“There have been discussions over the years — should we modernize it and make it look better on the showroom floor. And we have made the decision not to do that,” he added.
That consistency, he said, is valued by the customers.
Dhein said customers will call looking for parts for products that are 20 or 30 yeard old.
“And we say, ‘Oh yeah, we have the parts,’” he said.
“I’ve known the equipment since 1968 and it looks basically the same today with a few exceptions.
Other than that, we can fix anything back to 1975,” Reitnour added.
Reitnour’s input through the years has played a big part in the company’s development, according to Dhein.
After the first of the year, Reitnour said he plans switch to a part-time schedule — working five hours a day, four days a week.
“I can’t sit around. I get bored too easy. And I would probably drive my wife nuts,” he said.
Dhein said it isn’t unusual for MacKissic employees to work for the company for decades.
“Up until a few years ago, half the company had been here 25 or 30 years,” he said, adding that right now there are four employees with more than 40 years of service — including Reitnour.
MacKissic Inc. currently has about 35 employees. For more information about MacKissic Inc., visit www. mackissic.com.