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Behlen Manufacturing Co. Chairman/CEO Phil Raimondo speaks during the company’s 85-year celebration in Columbus in June. Raimondo died Sunday.
COLUMBUS — A local leader in manufacturing, Phil Raimondo, chairman and CEO of Behlen Mfg. Co., died Sunday.
“Phil was a great guy, a good businessman,” state Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus said. “The Raimondo family have been great supporters of the Columbus community and believers in Nebraska and believers in manufacturing in the U.S.”
Behlen Mfg. Co. was founded in 1936 by Walter D. Behlen. Wickes Corp. took over the company and Phil Raimondo’s father, TR Raimondo, was its general manager.
TR Raimondo — along with Dick Casey, Bob Theilen and Steve McGill — bought the Columbus-based company in 1984 to return it to local ownership. They reportedly invested $30 million and lost $7 million in their first year. In June, Behlen was valued at $300 million.
The employees at Behlen Mfg. Co. in Columbus take a company photo together. Behlen Chairman and CEO Phil Raimondo passed away over the weekend.
“They’ve been so important to the Columbus area because they rescued Behlen from the edge of extinction,” Moser said. “They’ve done such a great job in making it stronger than it’s ever been before.”
Last year the company celebrated 36 years of local ownership. Behlen also has locations in Omaha; Boise, Idaho; Baker City, Oregon; McGregor, Texas; and Sarasota, Florida, according to its website.
At a June celebration to mark its 85th anniversary, Phil Raimondo attributed Behlen’s success to its more than 1,200 employees.
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