2002 Fairfield Entrepreneur of the Year
Barry Harper Harper Brush Works
Barry was born and raised in Fairfield, IA. In 1990 he became the President/CEO of Harper Brush Works, Inc.
In the eleven years of running Harper, sales grew ten-fold from $3 million to over $30 million The workforce increased from 35 employees to 165 employees and floor space go from 40,000 square feet to over 210,000 square feet. Harper Brush now has two manufacturing plants in Fairfield and Stockton, CA.
In addition we have a sister company, Texas Feathers, located in Brownwood, TX. They sell to Wal-Mart, Target and most of the major drug and grocery chains.
Our customers include over 850 Home Depot stores, Tractor Supply stores, hundreds of Ace and True Value Hardware stores, Costco warehouse club stores, several grocery chains and other accounts in the janitorial and industrial supply wholesale market.
His managerial philosophy is:
1. Work hard, have fun and make a profit.
2. Look for continuous improvement in everything you do.
3. Always treat others, as you would want to be treated.
Harper Brush Works, Inc. is a 102 year-old company that was founded by A. K. Harper. The company is still family owned with 33 shareholders.