This is the sixth and final part of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:
"Quiz a man about his home town, and he will surprise you with how little he knows-even of its most important assets. To any community a basic asset is its industry-the plants which provide paychecks for many of its citizens. And its products going out across the nation and the world are a city's most important ambassadors. Why do you know about Council Bluffs industry? The 37 insignia on this page represent a big share of the variety of products which might bear the label: 'Made in Council Bluffs.' How many do you recognize?"
Red Giant Oil was founded in 1910 according to the company’s website. The earliest date that Red Giant Oil appears in the Council Bluffs city directories is 1929. At this time, Leonard VanDruff was the owner and operator and the business was located at 710 Bennett building on Broadway and Fourth Street. The company mainly sold oil and related products to farmers and farm equipment dealers in the Midwest. In 1935, the company moved to 1024 South 6th Street. The company was incorporated in 1946. In the 1950s, the business moved to 2200 South Avenue. A salesman for Red Giant Oil named Fred Galvani worked his way up through the company and ended up purchasing it in the late 1950s. Fred started to expand the business and purchased Searle Petroleum Company in the 1960s. By the 1980s, Red Giant Oil was focusing on railroad locomotive engine oil and lubricants as its main products. According to a Daily Nonpareil article from April 8, 2010, “Red Giant is the largest independent manufacturer of railroad engine oil in North America. The company supplies Union Pacific Railroad Co. with more than 60 percent of their engine oil.” Fred ran the company until his death in 2004. His son-in-law, Gary Bills, became president and he oversaw the acquisition of another company called Tri-State Recycling in Wyoming. Gary passed away in 2005. It was then run by Fred’s wife, Lorraine Galvani, and daughter, Sherryl Bills. In 2018, Red Giant Oil was purchased by HollyFrontier Corporation but the company was able to continue to operate as a separate entity and keep its employees, according to a July 11, 2018 Daily Nonpareil article. Today, the company is still headquartered in Council Bluffs at 1701 South 3rd Street and maintains distribution hubs in Council Bluffs (at 420 Fred Galvani Drive), Texas, and Wyoming.
Omaha Standard was formed in 1926 with Myles Standish as president. Located at 2411 West Broadway, the company produced “automobile truck bodies, trailer and semi-trailer bodies and wagon boxes,” according to a May 19, 1934 Daily Nonpareil article. By the 1930s, the business employed around 75 people and was handling orders for Ford Motor Company truck bodies. Omaha Standard also contributed to the war effort during World War II. An August 6,1944 Daily Nonpareil article reported that the company produced “10-ton stake trailers and 15-ton cargo trailers” for the armed forces. The 10-ton trailers were shipped to the factory for assembly but the 15-ton trailers were completely produced by Omaha Standard “from design to final khaki paint job.” The factory was expanded several times to account for the increased production and purchased the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway and Bridge Company street car barn located on 28th Street and Avenue B. An additional property at 28th Street and Avenue A was purchased to be used as a machine shop. A November 17, 1943 Daily Nonpareil article mentioned that the additional factory space would primarily be dedicated to war orders. After World War II, employees went on strike over wage disputes and president Myles Standish decided to permanently close the business, citing “the strike and the price of materials as contributing factors,” according to an interview with the Daily Nonpareil from December 8, 1945. However, after an agreement was reached with the United Automobile Workers union, the company reopened in early 1946. Post-war efforts focused on livestock truck bodies and trailers, in addition to insulated and refrigerated vans and custom-order body styles. By the 1950s, Omaha Standard had regional offices in the Midwest and was shipping their products internationally. Myles Standish stepped down as president in 1960 and Hal Lowther replaced him. Lowther was also president of Van-Car Corporation and Omaha Standard became a subsidiary of this company. In addition to their established product line, the Daily Nonpareil reported in the February 12, 1961 issue that the company also built piggy-back trailers, which were “designed to be loaded, placed on board flatcars and shipped via rail to their load destination. There another truck-tractor pulls the trailer over the road to the cargo destination.” In 1962, the company was sold to businessmen in Fremont, Nebraska but Omaha Standard stayed in Council Bluffs and was allowed to retain its employees and supervisors. Paul Moser became the new president. In the late 1970s, Omaha Standard opened a retail store at 2109 South 35th Street. Around 2006, a new facility was constructed at 3501 South 11th Street to centralize Omaha Standard’s offices and production facility into one location in Council Bluffs. In 2008, Palfinger acquired Omaha Standard and the business continues to operate in Council Bluffs.
manufactured in Council Bluffs are checked by Sales Manager James Somers and General Manager Gayle Tate."
Sources:
“About Us.” Red Giant Oil, https://www.redgiantoil.com/en-us/about.
Daily Nonpareil articles
“Red Giant Oil Company LLC.” Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce, https://business.councilbluffsiowa.com/list/member/red-giant-oil-company-llc-1458.