2015 Year in Review No. 7: Paul Mueller dies at 99

SPRINGFIELD, JAN. 19—The founder of stainless steel equipment manufacturer Paul Mueller Co. died Jan. 19 at his Springfield home. Paul Mueller was 99.

Mueller and business partner Gordon Mann opened Mann and Mueller Heating and Sheet Metal Works in 1940 with one employee. The company name changed to Paul Mueller Co. in 1943 after Mann became ill and sold his share of the business to Mueller. The company was incorporated in Missouri in 1946, according to Muel.com.

The legacy of Mueller seems to be as long lasting as the stainless steel products his company has built for three-quarters of a century. His launch of Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL) in the 1940s is considered the birth of an industry that today accounts for nearly one in five of all manufacturing jobs in the region. Now, with nearly 30 stainless steel and tank manufacturers – names such as Holloway America, Precision Stainless Inc.  and Custom Metalcraft – the industry employs roughly 2,600 area workers, according to Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce data.

Today, the company does business in roughly 50 countries and manages facilities in Iowa, the Netherlands and Vietnam, manufacturing and selling steel tanks and components for the food, dairy, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and fuel industries. Mueller Co. also started Springfield Brewing Co. in 1997 to showcase its beverage tanks before selling to six local investors four years ago.

Mueller lived for six decades with his wife on Walnut Street but personally loved spending time at the 125-acre family farm in Strafford, where he created a series of man-made lakes from a stream bed.

He is survived by seven children and more than two dozen grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In fiscal 2014, Mueller had net revenue of $200.7 million and income of $6.8 million. As of Sept. 30, Mueller Co. held assets of $127.4 million.

“As the company grew, he didn’t retire to the office. He was always on the floor,” said Mueller’s grandson, David Moore, who currently serves as the company’s president and CEO. “When you talk to his co-workers, that’s what they talked about – his extremely noticeable work ethic and his commitment to quality.”