This history is obtained from and used with permission of the authors of Diagonal, Iowa -- Centennial History, 1888-1988.
Sur Gro
Plant Food Company, Inc.
Sur Gro
Plant Food Company, Inc. opened for business in Diagonal, Iowa in February 1976. We had a fertilizer storage building and a
combination office/chemical storage building with an anhydrous and liquid
nitrogen plant on the east side of the Chicago
Northwestern rail line. We were a Missouri corporation with our head office in Plattsburg, Missouri. The owners were Howard and Eldon Freeman of
Plattsburg with Jim Rakestraw as General Manager and
President.
The staff at the Diagonal office in
1976 was Ed Allee, manager, with Duane Pine and Randy
Cook as laborers. Neva Allee
cam to work as secretary in the spring of 1976. Since the opening, we have gone through many
changes including going from gross sales of $250,000 to over $2,000,000
annually. We have added to our
facilities a 32 x 80 foot chemical warehouse, a 16 x 80 foot parts shed, a 48
x48 maintenance shop, and a 60 x 120 foot fertilizer storage building. We also bought 4 ½ acres of land from the Chicago and Northwestern
rail line.
Our crew as of February 1986,
includes Ed Allee, manager; Neva Allee,
secretary; Wendall Wallace, assistant manager; Kevin Starlin, shop foreman; Brian Cook, applications; with Gary
Stephens and Gary Smith as chief mechanics.
We look forward to being a vital cog
in the community for many years to come.