California man improves the community he fell in love with
A new manufacturing plant, which will eventually employ 13 people, will soon be opening in Laurel.
It will occupy the building which formerly housed Benscoter Plumbing and Heating on Highway 20.
Lynn Madsen, owner of Giant A & M, Inc., who lives in California, says he wants to give back to a community that has meant so much to him.
“Laurel has been a very special place for me ever since I was a kid,”said Madsen.
He fell in love with the community when he spent summers during his childhood visiting his Uncle Carl Christensen’s farm and with his grandmother, Ellen Christensen.
He became very fond of her and named his oldest daughter, Laurel Ellen, which reflects his feelings for both his grandmother as well as this Cedar County community.
Following graduation from high school, Madsen pursued a football career for a time until he decided to go into business for himself.
It was when he was selling pick-up bed liners to auto dealers in San Diego County that his entrepreneurship began to show.
“I thought, 'dealers always like to advertise, so why not make something they could use to advertise—sort of like a traveling billboard—and make them attractive so those who purchase the vehicles will leave them on,’” he said.
That was 1992.
Now, 16 years later, the company he founded has grown from producing mud flaps, hitch covers and floor mats to include license frame inserts, mouse pads, aluminum cups, domed emblems and spare tire covers for Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet sport utility vehicles and trucks.
“Our real niche is that we put graphics on the accessories we make,” said the entrepreneur.
And now he is expanding his business to Laurel.
To bring that about, he has worked with the city of Laurel to obtain $236,000 in federal Community Block Grant funds.
In addition, Madsen, Security National Bank of Laurel, the Nebraska Economic Development Corp., and others, have pledged $1.07 million to construct the 10,000 square foot manufacturing and warehouse building addition.
The idea for expansion came about during a visit to relatives in Laurel in August of 2005.
He saw the low cost of doing business here and started thinking through the idea of moving the manufacture of some of his products to Laurel.
“The pieces just started coming together,”he said. Madsen and his Uncle Carl’s grandson, Chris Merkel, (who Madsen hadn’t seen since Merkel was 5) happened to get together.
“We started talking, and, you know, we started dreaming. Then we started planning,” Merkel said.
According to Madsen, the real key to making the plan feasible is that he and Merkel use video conferencing to communicate. It’s like Madsen is on site in Laurel and Merkel is in Madsen’s office in California.
The manufacturing will take place in the location on Highway 20 and a sales office will be located in the building formerly occupied by Marlene Jussel Insurance Agency in downtown Laurel. Madsen plans to hold two quarterly corporate meetings in California and two in Laurel each year.
According to Merkel, who will manage Giant A & M's Nebraska plant, production of floor mats will begin as soon as possible with other products to be added by the end of the year.
Madsen believes the move to Laurel wasn’t a coincidence.
“I am a deeply spiritual person and I think God directs our steps. It just seemed right that I come back to Laurel,” he said.
Economic Development Coordinator, Annette Junck said the move is good for the community.
“It’s very exciting to have a business that will provide 13 jobs for people who want to work in their home town.”