By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — A Loves Park company under a second generation of family ownership is celebrating a century in business.
Cream City Stateline Scale Co. — which sells, repairs and calibrates scale equipment for roughly 2,000 customers in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa — was recognized Tuesday by local dignitaries and The Parks Chamber of Commerce for “100 years of excellence.”
“Our community is grateful to help celebrate the start of your second century with your second generation running the company,” Mayor Greg Jury said, reading from a plaque presented to the company.
The company’s name harkens back to its founding in 1921 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it was one of several downtown buildings with cream-colored brick.
The Beautaw family founded the company and after one ownership change it was purchased in 1998 by Jay and Lorri Garnhart, who moved the headquarters to Loves Park.
Their son Ryan Garnhart took over the company earlier this year.
“To continue to grow as a family-owned business surely requires great leadership and a strong team, and this company is a shining example of what works,” Jury said.
Jury also thanked Cream City for making the city’s deal to bring Costco here possible. Cream City agreed to a $1.7 million land swap deal to relocate so that an entry road for Costco could be built.
Related: How Costco helped Loves Park weather The Great Lockdown
“It was our honor to help cut the ribbon at this beautiful, new facility in 2019, and I look forward to seeing Cream City Stateline Scale Co. continue to grow and prosper for another 100 years right here in The Parks,” Machesney Park Mayor Steve Johnson said.
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Jay Garnhart worked for Cream City for 45 years, including more than 20 as owner, before retiring. In his decades in the industry he saw key changes like the shift from mechanical scales to electronic.
“I’ve seen the transition between the old ways and this way, here,” he said. “This way is a lot easier on your back.”
“The old mechanical way … we lifted ’em manually,” he said. “You had to be more of an ironworker back in the old way versus now you have to be more of a technician.”
Ryan Garnhart, who started working for the company at age 17, learned both old-school and new-school systems, too.
“I grew up still working on the scales that he put in 40 years ago,” Ryan said of his father. “They’re ancient mechanical parts but they’re highly accurate.”
The company employs 23 people here and in its Lake Mills, Wisconsin, office, and it is hiring.
“On this special Thanksgiving for our company and our family, we are deeply thankful for the employees and customers who have helped us become a leader in the weighing industry,” Ryan Garnhart said.
(Pictured above from left: Tonya Lamia of the Parks Chamber of Commerce, state Rep. Dave Vella, Amy Antczak, Lorri Garnhart, Jay Garnhart and Ryan Garnhart, Loves Park Mayor Greg Jury and Machesney Park Mayor Steve Johnson)