Glenstone Block builds on foundation of change

by Kris Ann Hegle

SBJ Contributing Writer

Glenstone Block Co. has been at 928 S. Glenstone for more than 54 years. According to David Harrison, president and owner, Glenstone Block is more than just a building or a place where a group of people work. The company's employees have helped build the community.

David Harrison's father John Harrison and his partners Bill Pauly and Guy Hall founded the business in 1945. The three pooled their life's savings of $6,000, plunked $100 down on a block machine and put the rest in the bank. They set up office in a sawed-off metal shack on Glenstone, furnished it with a table and folding chairs, heated it with a coal stove and prepared for the long, lean winter ahead.

By the time the first blocks came off the assembly line on March 13, 1946, the three had only $455.55 left in their bank account. At the time, about 5,500 block plants operated in the United States.

David Harrison estimated today only 20 percent of these plants are still open, with most falling victim to time and increased complexities in the industry, which demanded a more substantial capital investment. Glenstone Block, however, has survived these industry changes as well as changes in the market.

When architects and builders began requesting more than plain, gray blocks, the company began producing blocks in different colors, shapes and sizes.

A number of internal changes have transpired, as well. Through the years, John Harrison bought out his business partners. In 1976 he retired, and his son David Harrison took over as president and owner.

The following year, Glenstone Block opened a supply yard in Camdenton. Times were good.

Between 1979 and 1981, a construction downturn caused sales to plummet by 38 percent. Glenstone Block began to diversify, and the company bought or built several Glen Block Hardware stores. The company added 60 new employees, and revenue from the retail stores accounted for nearly 40 percent of sales.

By 1991, the market was changing again. Large hardware stores began opening locations in Springfield.

"Glenstone Block suffered deep and hurtful losses," Harrison said. "It wasn't just hard financially, it was hard emotionally. We wound up liquidating our hardware stores one by one, and we had to let a lot of good employees go."

The company shifted direction again returning to its roots in manufacturing. In 1995, a new plant was added in Branson. Today the plants produce more blocks in two weeks than the original plant made in a year. Harrison said Glenstone Block will produce more blocks in 1999 than at any time during its history.

Many of the blocks produced at Glenstone Block form the foundations of businesses and homes in Springfield. According to Harrison, employees have helped the community grow in other ways, as well. Some have served as foster parents, others are involved as volunteer firefighters, local school board members and volunteers in their churches.

"Any person with a full-time job who pops up in meetings all over town is truly representing the organization that makes his efforts possible," Harrison said. "A big part of the reason for asking a company president to establish a high public profile is to create good will for the company that is footing the bill for his contributions. Glenstone Block has been quietly paying the bills now for decades. We believe that we have established ourselves as good citizens as well as good businesspeople."

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