NAGA News November/December 201424

M ilton Paul Kalmbach, founder of Kalmbach Feeds, had been working as a nutrition-

ist in North Central Ohio for several years when he began to realize that he could of-fer custom-ers more. For some months, he and his wife, Ruth, considered open-ing a feed business in Upper Sandusky. They had not yet finished preparing themselves when Milton’s boss got word of their intentions and fired him, leaving Milton jobless with a family of six to support. Confronted with the possibility of losing ev-erything he had, Milton found the strength to pursue his dream of opening Kalmbach Feeds and fulfill his vision of offering customers a better product and service for less.

Milton believed he had more to offer customers: better products, greater profits, better reliability, and extraordinary service. In 1962, when he learned that a feed mill in Lovell,

five miles north of Upper Sandusky, was for sale, he sat down with Ruth and began to figure how much it would cost them to open their own business and, more importantly,

whether it was worth the risk to their growing family. By now, they had four children: Paul (age seven), Jeanette (age six), Laura (age four), and Rita (age two).

Within six months, the Kalmbachs purchased all the necessary equip-ment to run the feed mill, bought a truck to haul the feed, and hired their first two employees. The level of ser-vice to customers was extraordinary, but as Milton saw it, he didn’t have any other choice. According to Paul, his father often said, “If I hadn’t made money in that first year, we

wouldn’t be here today.” Not only did he earn enough money to keep food on the table, but he also earned enough to pay off the $20,000 loan by 1967—and to begin work on a new plant by 1969.

Kalmbach Feeds’ basic philoso-phy, “Treat others as you want to be treated,” underscores the importance of those relations and the faith that helped build them. The motto has al-

ways meant more to the family than just words on a page; it has been a plumb line by which they mea-sure their success. Because of that, the Kalmbachs have suc-ceeded in a

world where small business owners were not even expected to survive.

Since the late 1970s, Kalmbach has been providing game bird feeds to many producers. The key to Kalmbach’s game bird business has been to offer products that out-performed the competition. Their products put feathers on the birds and set the birds up early to be active flyers. Not only that, Kalmbach has partnered with a research organiza-tion that has done more game bird research than any other private or-ganization on the planet. In the same vein, over 20 years ago, Kalmbach hired a renowned poultry vet-erinarian with significant game bird experience to continue its high-level of service to their customers. Since that time, game bird customers have continued to represent a significant niche market for Kalmbach and the products have continuously been researched and improved.

In 2007, Kalmbach Feeds com-pleted its largest expansion ever with the construction of a new, more efficient, state-of-the-art manufac-

Feed Providers by Kalmbach Feeds, Inc., Upper Sandusky, Ohio

Kalmbach Feeds, Inc.

25NAGA NewsNovember/December 2014

turing plant. This plant was named in honor of Milton Kalmbach, who passed away April 14, 2007. Milt had been involved with the day-to-day activities of the company for forty-four years—right up until his death. This plant is currently the finest feed manufacturing facility in the U.S. - no small statement for a family compa-ny to make. As Paul says, “Everyone who visits us tells us that it is the best feed facility in the U.S.” In ad-dition to being a very high-quality and efficient facility, it has several unique capabilities such as being the only commercial facility able to produce completely pathogen-free feed products. The company has also added manufacturing facilities in Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky and is now in a better position than ever before to continue to deliver the best products at the best value for their customers and future customers.

As far as game bird products go, the Kalmbach commitment to this very important and vibrant market has never been stronger. Paul says, “We love the people, we love the birds, and are excited to be able to serve such a great industry.”

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years,” Paul admits, “but we have the best team and the best products that we have ever had. Our future will be determined by how well we, as a team, execute the golden rule.” The company will face many obstacles: an ever-changing in-dustry, a challenging socio-economic climate, and the passing of the baton to the next generation to name a few. But just as in the past, Paul says, great customers, very dedicated team members (who now number over 300), and the blessing of God will be the keys to the team’s success in the future. H

A LITTLE BIT OF NAGA HISTORY… This photo of the 1956 NAGA banquet was submitted by Bill MacFarlane. His father, Don, was NAGA President that year, and the convention was in Kansas City, MO. Can you identify anyone in the picture?