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Born in Iowa City, Ronnie (aka – The Gray Squirrel) moved to Magnolia, IA at the ripe ol’ age of 8.  47 years later, Ronnie is still living in Magnolia and has been applying his craft at Vulcan since he was 20 years old.  Great for Vulcan, but even better for the 1000+ projects Ronnie has touched during his career.  “A lot of us have been at it for years…” Ronnie notes.

Like many Vulcan employees, Ronnie’s passion for all things mechanical were cultivated from his time on the farm fixing equipment alongside his Dad.  Back in 1981, Ronnie eventually joined forces with Vulcan founder Whitey Mensching fabricating slide gates and simple bar screens.  “He expected a lot out of us back then.” Ronnie fondly says of Whitey.  A majority of Ronnie’s time is now spent welding, cutting parts, and using the brake machine to manufacture some of the most reliable and robust headworks equipment in the world.  His specialty is assembling our Mensch Severe Duty™ and VMR Muli-Rack bar screens. He also likes pestering his partner in crime, Jeff Fetter, during coffee breaks!

Ronnie’s been married to his wife Rhonda for 33 years and spends his free time hunting deer, catching spoonbill and catfish in the rivers of Missouri and Oklahoma and especially riding his motorcycle.

According to Production Manager and Vice President Dwight DeBolt, “Ronnie is one of the most reliable and honest people you’ll ever meet. Glad to have him as an employee of Vulcan.  As the clock reaches quitting time he remains a close to many outside of work as a personnel friend.”

Thanks for all your hard work over the years, Ronnie!  A thousand wastewater treatment plants thank you as well.