Our Story

THE FOUNDERS

Dr. Victor A. Tiedjens had an impressive career in agricultural research and spent years cautiously developing and fine-tuning a new concept. Once he realized that agricultural organizations were not interested in marketing his ideas, he joined forces with Joseph P. Henry and George B. Ward to get his concept to market. Henry was already an established leader in fertilizer sales and marketing, while Ward had a spectacular background in business management. Together, they named the new concept The Growers Program. To further supplement the program, Dr. Tiedjens created a balanced, high-quality, non-toxic, liquid fertilizer called Growers Mineral Solution (GMS). Growers Mineral, Corp. was founded by the trio in 1955.

The Factory

The three entrepreneurs needed a place to produce their fertilizer, Growers Mineral Solution (GMS). Together they bought an old brewery, constructed in 1905, in Milan, Ohio. The building had previously housed The Joseph Herb Brewery Company (1905-1919) and then The Milan Brewery Company (1934-1951). At the time, the equipment previously used to make beer required minimal revamping to produce fertilizer (GMS). Today, however, most of the original equipment has been replaced and upgraded with materials like stainless steel.

Passing the Torch

Dr. Tiedjens has been recognized as one of the leading plant nutrition specialists in the world since 1923 and was an instrumental part of Growers Mineral Corp.'s early success. Read More on Dr. Tiedjens

Dr. Tiedjens passed in 1975. Before his passing, he selected Wilbur Franklin as his replacement. Franklin worked with the company until his death in 1999. In the early 1990s, Franklin began training Jim Halbeisen as his replacement. Halbeisen is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a B.S. in soil science and an M.S. in agronomy. Halbeisen was born and raised on a crop and livestock farm in Fremont, OH. His farm has been on the Growers Program since 1955. In the late 1990s, Halbeisen took over the role of Director of Research, and he remains in that role today.

After Joseph Henry’s death in 2012, his daughter, Jennie Henry took over as the President of Growers Mineral, Crop. She helped to modernize the company while still honoring the founder’s values. After her death in 2019, her husband Richard A. Bobel took over as President. Around the same time, Jennie Henry’s son, Russell R. Bobel (VP of Marketing and Technology), and daughter-in-law, Asa J. Bobel (VP of Corporate Development), joined the company. In 2020, George Ward’s grandson, Jim Ward, joined as a member of the Board of Directors, and the VP of Sales.

In 2022, Richard Bobel was promoted to President of the Board, with the third generation running day-to-day operations.

THE MILESTONES

In 2014, Growers Chemical (Canada) Corp. was established to allow us to better serve our Canadian customers. In the same year, we also founded Growers Transport Company. We found that having a team solely dedicated to the delivery of our product, helped us to ensure safe and quick deliveries.

THE PRESENT

Today, Growers Mineral, Corp. remains a family-owned business in Milan, OH. We are operated by a close-knit leadership team that is dedicated to the production, sale, and delivery of our three products: GMS, Soil Conditioner, and Nutritional Additive (NA). We have expanded our service area to 27 US states, as well as parts of Canada. This was accomplished, in part, by maintaining and treating our customers as an extended part of the Growers Family. We have exciting changes coming soon, so keep an eye out in the next few months for our big reveal!

Left to Right: Asa Bobel (President), Jim Ward (VP of Sales), Elika Bobel (Fourth Generation Growers Family), Richard Bobel (President of the Board), Russell Bobel (VP of Marketing and Technology), Freja Bobel (Fourth Generation Growers Family)