ALBION — The sudden passing of longtime Raymon Company President/CEO Larry Raymon — who transformed the enterprise from a nearly bankrupt outfit in Eldora into a thriving manufacturer of registers, grilles and diffusers for commercial buildings headquartered in Albion with about 80 total employees — came as a shock to many, including his loved ones and trusted employees.

But his son Chad and his wife Joynell knew that the show must go on, and, as they’ve often done before, they put their heads down and got to work. Two years later, with Joynell as owner and board chair, Chad serving as president and Blake Matney as CEO, Raymon has continued to thrive, recently celebrating 47 years in business under the ownership of the Raymon family.

“I think we’ve kind of hit our stride. We’re doing really, really good, and I would attribute that success to our wonderful employees. They’ve really stepped up, and mom and I have really tried to embrace the family business with them,” Chad said. “A lot of our competitors, they’re owned by somebody else or they sell off and that sort of thing, so we truly enjoy having a small business to where we can do special things for our employees. And hopefully we have lines out the door for people that want to work at the factory because we treat them so well. I should say, we try to treat them so well.”

As of the most recent payroll period, Raymon employed 64 full-time and 11 part-time employees, and despite a slight dip in the overall number, the company is shipping and selling more than it ever has before.

“We continue to make the workplace current with technology and whatever we can do to stay in front of our competition. And since it’s a small business, we can come up with an idea and, as Larry used to say, implement it in the afternoon,” Joynell said. “And that’s exactly what we do.”

In addition to his passion for the business, Larry always had a strong connection to the Albion community and worked to foster its growth through advocacy for the Iowa River’s Edge Trail and the construction of the Raymon Veterans Park, which he financed entirely on his own. Joynell said the mission continues through events like the new annual Memorial Day celebration, and she was also quick to credit her son, who lives primarily in the Nashville, Tenn. area but returns to central Iowa often, for stepping up to lead at such a challenging time.

“When Larry passed, it was sudden, and Chad just took over like a trooper. And I know it was difficult, but he has done an outstanding job,” she said. “The family is so proud of him, and he’s done a lot of really nice changes within the company. He did some things that Larry chose not to do, and we’ve updated all of the offices. So the things that Chad has done have really made a difference in how the employees are looking at us too, as more of a family thing, and we really do take care of them.”

Chad, 53, a Class of 1990 Marshalltown High School graduate, recalled that his father passed away on a Saturday, and the following Monday, he was already working to reassure employees about the future and the stability of their jobs.

“We were more ready than we thought we were. Dad had been preparing us for a lot of years, me especially, and he left me notes. He left me all kinds of data that was so helpful in the beginning. It gave me a resource from him that I was able to use to make decisions and kind of just keep on moving forward,” he said. “He always said we never circle the wagons, and I said ‘Well, I’m just trying to learn how to drive them.'”

The future is bright for Raymon, and the leadership team has hopes for expansion and job growth in the near future as the company takes on new business with outside equipment manufacturers. And like other major industrial employers in the Marshalltown area, they’re proud to keep as much production in America as possible, which is fitting given Larry’s military service and extensive efforts to honor veterans through projects like the new park.

Staff retention and longevity — many Raymon employees have been with the company for decades — are also points of pride for Joynell and Chad, and they don’t see that changing anytime soon.