Forney Industries: History! (Page 2)
By the 1950s, Forney Industries had 1,000 direct sales employees in the field and 500 employees in Fort Collins turning out between 400 and 500 welders a week. However, at this peak the market began changing dramatically. It became extremely competitive, wages went up and it became harder to hire good sales people. Sales diminished from $10 million a year to a low of $1.5 million. At the low point, the office staff dwindled to 20 people.
In 1963, Mr. Forney was awarded the "Free Enterprise Award" in New York City in national recognition of his success in inventing and marketing arc welders and related supplies. Around this time, Mr. Forney began taking more of a background advisory position and appointed his only son, Jack Forney, as Chairman of the Board, and promoted Mr. Anderson to President of the company.
Between the 1960s and early 1990s, Forney Industries continued their emphasis on supplies, rather than welders. Forney Industries built their workforce back up to 250 employees, more than 100 of which were factory representatives and regional managers spread across the entire United States and Canada, and built up to a line of 1,200 to 1,400 products, adding up to 100 new products per year from over different 150 suppliers. To handle nation-wide volume, Forney Industries opened an additional warehousing and shipping facility in Atlanta GA. On a sad note during this period of growth, J.D. Forney passed away in 1986.
