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DPL116
877.963.4966 •
dixonvalve.com4
100 Years of Uncommon Excellence
™
R.B. Goodall, President & COO
Buck Iron Company, Lancaster PA
manufacturing priorities, the company could no longer
supply standard product to its commercial hose
distributor base.
During this time, a former Dixon sales manager
created a partnership and started the Hose Accessories
Company, later known as Le-Hi Valve and Coupling
Company. With Dixon production going almost 100
percent to the military, Le-Hi Valve was able to make
large inroads into the company's distributor business.
When the war ended, all the government contracts
dried up—seemingly overnight. Thousands of Dixon
couplings sat gathering dust at the Columbus Depot and
would eventually be sold by the government for
commercial use.
It would take
fresh energy and vision
to rebuild the
company's customer
base. Fortunately,
Richard B. ("R.B.")
Goodall, son of H.W.
Goodall, was up to the
task. The Virginia
Military Institute
graduate, who also held
a degree from Babson
College, gradually
assumed more
leadership in the company as his father slowed down.
In 1951, H.W. Goodall became ill while on a sales
trip to California and died 10 days after his return. R.B.
Goodall became president and chief operating officer.
Dixon continued to grow and prosper under his
leadership, and much of what the company is today can
be attributed to his long range thinking and
understanding of the industrial hose and fitting business.
He was known as being a leader who would listen to
employees and offer encouragement. "His door was
always open," recalls son R.L.
In 1952, Dixon purchased Buck Iron Company
located in Lancaster, PA. Eventually, this company
became a major source of malleable iron, brass,
aluminum and ductile castings for Dixon. Buck Company
is now a leading U.S. jobbing foundry with the capability
to produce medium and long run orders in a wide variety
of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
During the 1950's, Dixon pioneered the use of
non-metallic hose fittings. The Tuff-Lite
™
line of nylon
fittings was revolutionary in the industry and has been
successful in agricultural, food and medical applications.
Beginning in the 1960's and continuing today, Dixon
has demonstrated its commitment to customer service
by broadening its distribution efforts. Until that time, it
could take days, sometimes weeks, to ship
products to customers across the country. The Dixon
management team recognized the wisdom of
establishing distribution centers—warehouses that could
be stocked with products—at locations across the
country (and later around the world). With this
breakthrough, customers could be assured of prompt
and efficient delivery of whatever they needed to keep
their businesses rolling.
During these years, Dixon leaders also began
forging partnerships with other manufacturers, a move
that enabled Dixon to offer its customers important
products—such as worm gear clamps—that weren't
being made in-house. Though Dixon would continue to
manufacture most of the products it sells, the company
did begin marketing a limited number of hose fittings
and accessories made by other manufacturers.
By 1976 Dixon had outgrown its Philadelphia
facilities, so the business moved to a 10-acre location
in Chestertown, Maryland—the site of a former pickling
plant. Some 15 employees and their families moved
with the company to the picturesque waterfront
community on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Dixon entered the cam and groove market in 1980
by applying for a patent for the Boss-Lock
™
, a fitting
with a safety-locking handle. In 1985, the assets of the