Behlen Grain Systems • 800-553-5520 • http://www.behlengrainsystems.com
Reprinted from Grain Journal July/August 2017 Issue
established: 1936 • Columbus, NE • 402-564-3111 • www.behlenmfg.com
In 1936, Behlen Mfg. Co. was founded in the Columbus, NE garage of Walter D. Behlen. The first products made were steel toe caps for work shoes and clamps for wooden egg crates.
The company quickly gained a reputation for innovative, quality farm products. By 1950, Behlen broadened the company’s focus and expanded its product line by offering grain bins and dryers, as well as a self-framing building system known as S-Span.
According to Kirk Nelson, director of marketing and sales, the origin of the company’s name isn’t particularly flashy: “It’s just the family name of the folks that started our company back in 1936. So just a shade over 80 years ago, Walt Behlen and his brothers, Mike and Gib, started out as Behlen, with the word ‘manufacturing’ spelled out. The Behlens sold the company to the Wickes Corporation in 1969.”
Return to Local Roots
In 1982, Tony Raimondo, current chairman, joined the company as the general manager. Following a major downturn in the ag economy in 1984, Raimondo led a management buyout and returned the company to local ownership that is still in place today.
Behlen Grain Systems, one of Behlen Mfg. Co.’s business units, is a manufacturer of grain bins, commercial hopper tanks, flat storage buildings, and temporary storage systems selling products in more than 70 countries worldwide.
According to Nelson, in 2008 Behlen Grain Systems became the first company in the grain industry to design a 1-million-bushel corrugated steel bin with a clear span roof.
