Magni-Fab celebrates 45 years in

Forty-five years ago this month, it was announced that Howe would land an expansion plant of MagniPower, Inc of Wooster, Ohio In a Thursday morning meeting at the then Ramada Inn in Sherman, Howe Mayor Dug Wortham introduced Don Collier, the executive vice president of the new subsidiary called Magni-Fab Southwest

Collier told The Howe Enterprise back in 1971, "We should start with around 25 employees I'm bringing five men down from Wooster In fact, they left today with a truck load of equipment "

The new company was to be housed in what was the former Grayson County Coliseum just north of FM 902 west in Howe Then Judge David H. Brown and Joe Kaufmann purchased the property at an undisclosed price and then leased it to Magni-Fab Brown said in February of 1971 that the plant was made possible by the cooperation of Howe and Sherman city officials, who had been squabbling over the boundary line involving the coliseum.

The Grayson County Coliseum originally opened in 1968 and the venue brought acts such as Willie Nelson and other performers to the arena as well as rodeos However, it never really took off as the event center it was meant to be which turned out great for the Howe local economy with the introduction of Magni-Fab in the structure.

Today, Magni-Fab Southwest, Inc. employs nearly 80 and is the second largest employer in Howe, trailing only Howe ISD The company also has a long history of promoting from within as Howe graduate Jimmy Bearden started in 1973 as the purchasing manger and was promoted to vice president and general manager in 1980 after Red McKinsley retired from that position

Two years earlier, Magni-Fab hired a 22-year-old Ohio native just out of the US Navy named Wayne Swineford continued on Page #5