EATON — Remagen, Inc. of Eaton is celebrating its 60th year in the foodservice business.
The business is located in downtown Eaton where it operates in three buildings. The office has a demonstration kitchen called Cafe Remagen and two warehouses, one being an 1885 historic livery stable.
Remagen covers foodservice business in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Michigan and western Pennsylvania. Remagen is a wholesaler whose primary market is foodservice dealers. The company is a manufacture representative for several manufacturers. It is a stocking distributor for Henny Penny Corporation in a tri-state area where it is rated as their Top 10 Distributor in North America.
Richard H. Tuggle founded the business in 1961 when he sold janitorial supplies and implemented a custodial cleaning service. The name St. Clair Supply Company originated from the historical significant of Fort St. Clair in Eaton.
Owner John R. Tuggle assumed the position of president in 1972. John had been involved in the business since its beginning and took over the family-owned operation during Richard’s long-term illness, after completing four years teaching and coaching football at Fairborn City Schools. The contract cleaning and cleaning supply companies were both sold over the years so Remagen could focus on the foodservice business.
“People,” Tuggle said of the secret to Remagen’s success. “It has to be people.”
Tuggle went on to state, “60 years in business does not guarantee anything in the foodservice industry. Remagen is a company of individuals that strive daily to meet the company’s business and culture goals. Remagen’s name, logo and mission statement are each registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”
John Tuggle adopted the current name and logo to honor the founder of the company. The logo represents the historical significance of the Allied Forces crossing the Rhine River on the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany on March 7, 1945.
John said that the relationships with customers and manufacturers are some of his favorite memories since he’s been involved with the business.
Furthermore, having been president since 1972, John has seen many changes in the industry, but it always comes back to lasting relationships.
“A lot of it would have to be trust,” he said. “You pick up a new manufacturer, and they present this and that, and then you don’t see them again. It’s a trust factor,” he said. ” We only look for long-term situations, whether it’s our employees, our manufacturers. Obviously, Henny Penny’s right at the top. We’ve been with them a few years, since ‘75.”
Henny Penny President Steve Maggard congratulated Remagen on 60 years of business.
“Sincere congratulations to John Tuggle and the Remagen team on their 60th anniversary,” Maggard said. “In addition to being a Henny Penny distributor, Remagen is a pillar in Eaton and has provided unwavering community support from the beginning. On behalf of all Henny Penny employee owners, I wish them continued success in the future.”
With people being the reason behind Remagen’s first 60 years, for the business to go another 60, Tuggle said that people will once again be the focus.
“There’s no other way of getting there,” he said. “It’s got to come back to people. With that experience, we’ve been through just about everything possible, so we have a lot of people that can give the the answer or follow through on a situation before other people get involved.”
Remagen has a treasure trove of that experience with the average employee displaying impressive loyalty to the foodservice company.
Co-Owner Jean Tuggle stated, “The foodservice industry has been depressed during the pandemic. We have had no layoffs of Remagen’s 14 employees who average 22 years of longevity. Each employee has collectively stepped up to meet this challenge.”
Remagen’s 60th year began on Oct. 1.
