The First Dredge Built By VMI 'Nearly Sank': But Look At Firm Now!
By Terry Hoggatt
Cushing Daily Citizen
Sunday, January 6, 1991
Gene Maitlen says the first dredge he very built 'nearly sank.' He went back to the drawing board. Six years later (in 1978) he finally sold a dredge. He's been selling them ever since.
Maitlen, president of VMI (Vaugh-Maitlen Industries), moved the dredge manufacturing company from Oklahoma City to Bethany; and then to Cushing a few years later. In 1989, VMI moved into its new facility in the northeast industrial park.
If that location doesn't sound familiar, VMI is located on the former Fleetwood Drive. Only now it's Maitlen Drive. The street was recently renamed by the Cushing City Commission, mainly because Maitlen and his company have become such dedicated members of the community. VMI provides jobs, economic stability and an extremely positive image for Cushing.
The dredges are used, for the most part, in waste removal involving pollution problems in various environmentally-impacted areas.
The affable Maitlen leaned back in his office a couple of days ago and beamed with pride as he discussed his company (named for Vice-President Bob Vaughn and Maitlen) and what he views for the future.
A few days ago, VMI shipped out a "Piranha" model dredge, the largest piece of equipment ever manufactured by the Cushing Company. "It's the biggest one we ever made," said Maitlen. " A fellow called and wanted a dredge of a certain style. We designed a framework for an excavator, mounted a diesel engine and made some other refinements for a complete package, and came up with quite a machine.
Nelda Wilson PhotoTHE "PIRANHA," the largest dredge ever manufactured at the Cushing VMI facility, was recently shipped to a customer. The company turns our several dredges a year and has long-range goals of constructing more as VMI grows.
"We're building a second one for a company that is one of the biggest waste removal contractors in the world."The Piranha is an excavator mounted dredging unit designed to pump 50 percent solids by dry weight in some materials.
The bucket from an appropriately sized excavator is removed and replaced with a cutterhead-pumping unite. There are a lot more technical details that would boggle the mind of the average layman. But suffice it to say that the huge machine gets the job done.
It was first tested at a lime pit in Decatur, Ill., where lime sludge was pumped to tanker trucks. The lime was then transported to nearby croplands and spread over the soil.
It helped Decatur remove lime sludge and allowed farmers to correct PH factor in their fields.
A Decatur executive said the Piranha "outperformed previous methods used to clean out the lagoons. The operator was able to see what was happening all the time."
Some possible applications for the Piranha include cleaning storage tanks, working in confined areas, pumping heavy solids, petroleum industry needs and removal of hazardous materials.
In the early 70s, Maitlen was "in the machinery business." A customer asked him to build a dredge. "I asked, 'what's a dredge?'" Maitlen laughs. "The customer came up with some materials and told us what he wanted. We rented a Quonset hut and we built it. Then it nearly sank. We lost the sale."
Maitlen said, "I'm hard-headed, so we built another dredge. It wasn't any better. Finally, in 1978 we sold a dredge. It was the third one we built."
He tells the story about how his dredge was delivered to an area where "the water was so bad the birds wouldn't even land. The company set up the machine it bought from us. Three days later the birds were landing."
Gene Maitlen, a native of this area who graduated from the now closed Norfolk High School between Cushing and Yale, is proud of his company and the people who work there.
"It's hard to find people who can build these machines," he said. "It's easier to have a few good employees and pay them overtime than to try to get temporary help and have someone tell them each step to take in the process we use here. I'd rather work my employees longer and know that I have a good product going out to a customer. I prefer that over temporary help."
He's a family-oriented man (his wife and sons are officers in the company) and he's aware of his employees' families and their needs. His wife, Peggy, is secretary-treasurer of the company; son Randy is a vice-president in charge of purchasing and drafting and is parts manager; Gene's other son, Tony, is a vice-president and sales manager.
"Just this last Christmas my wife cooked up a lot of stuff and got the names of all the employees' children. We had a company party, each child got a present and I gave the employees a little Christmas bonus. I enjoy doing that."
He said that when he toyed with the idea of moving his company to Cushing his biggest concern was obtaining supplies. "But the positives far outweighed the negatives," he said. "Some of our employees can pick up some things in Oklahoma City. Plus we're close to Tulsa and Oklahoma City, so that's not really a problem."
Maitlen said he likes this location, "there are good people here who ware good workers, and I like the attitude of everyone and the way we've been accepted. But what I think I like best of all is being able to provide a job for people who need work and to be able to pay them. I enjoy the smile on their faces on payday and I realize they're able to tgo buy groceries."
The personable Maitlen smiled and added, "Plus, it's home. I grew up not many miles from this building. I wish we'd moved back here years ago."
Nelda Wilson PhotoNAME-CHANGE - VMI President Gene Maitlen (second from right) and Mayor Marilyn Duff hold the sign that says "Maitlen Drive," which replaces the former Fleetwood Drive at the northeast Industrial tract. At left is Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Tony Kaal; at right is Industrial Committee Chairman Brownie Hayes.
Speaking of the building, there are actually two of them on the 5 1/2 acre tract along Maitlen Drive. The main building is nearly 15,000 square feet of shop and office space, while the paint shop is 1,500 square feet.
Nelda Wilson PhotoA FAMILY AFFAIR - VMI President Gene Maitlen (left), son Randy, daughter-in-law Mary and granddaughter Leslie pose with the Maitlen Drive sign that was recently erected. The street name replaces the former Fleetwood Drive.
VMI has turned out 12 dredges in Cushing, has another "in rental," plus a Piranha with a second of those models in production. It takes from one to three months to build a dredge, but "in an emergency, we can turn one out in three weeks," Maitlen said.
The company gets a lot of help from nearby Central Vo-Tech. "They provide safety classes," said Maitlen, "and the school trains some very good people. After they leave Central Tech and begin training with us, it doesn't take us long to have a top employee."
VMI, at this time, has 14 full-time workers, plus six sales representatives ("five of the sales reps cover the United States; the other one takes care of the rest of the world," Maitlen said).
Maitlen, who designs many of the systems utilized his company's production, owns 31 patents on equipment. "I enjoy trying to come up with something new," he said.
He's set some far-ranging goals for the company and the buildings he and his sons designed (they were constructed by local contractors and his wife was in charge of the interior decorating.)
"I plan to see this company grow," Maitlen siad. "If you're satisfied, you die. We can expand easily. There's room to extend the building and there's room for another building. By 1995, I hope to be manufacturing 25 dredges a year.
"And I hope VMI is in Cushing 100 years from now."
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