About Chief

About Chief

Chief Industries has been a family-owned, service-oriented manufacturer since we opened our doors in 1954. From humble beginnings to a diverse, global corporation featuring 7 brands, we’re proud to help communities thrive and engineer relationships.

The quintessential American success story began when Virgil Eihusen launched a small construction company — Chief Industries — from a garage in Grand Island, Nebraska. From Virgil Eihusen to his son, Robert, and now to his grandson, DJ as Chairman and CEO, Chief has been guided by strong leaders who maintain a clear focus on its core values – take care of the stakeholder, strengthen the company through diversification, and respect our employees.

At Chief, our leadership’s priority is supporting our 7 brands and 1,400 employees. We know that our strength comes from our people, collaboration, and open communication.

“The strength of Chief Industries comes from its ability to capitalize on the diversity of its family of brands,” says DJ Eihusen. “Working together keeps costs down, deadlines met, and workers employed. The future looks very bright for continued growth.”

About Chief
About Chief
Chief Industries
About Chief
About Chief

Our mission is to provide unparalleled personal attention to meeting the needs of our customers while treating all stakeholders with dignity and respect, thereby ensuring our strength and stability.

We Engineer Relationships

Our organizational strength comes from our people, collaboration, and a common goal focused on our customers. Success for us starts with a strong foundation — we’ve been family-owned and focused on relationships since the beginning — and continues with a diverse family of brands that work together and help each other to achieve balance. Our vision isn’t to be the biggest, but to be the best. The best for our employees, for our customers, and for communities around the world.

DJ Eihusen

CEO Statement

My grandfather founded Chief as a small construction company in 1954. His entrepreneurial spirit always kept driving him to explore new opportunities. With more than six decades of remarkable growth and diversification, we have honed our focus to 7 distinct, specialized brands that comprise our company.

You will find Chief products and services used in a wide range of industries around the world including agriculture, commercial construction, structural steel, factory-built housing, ethanol production, transportation, community development, and more. We are proud to be a leader in each of those industries through our advances in technology, innovative design, and unparalleled customer service and personal attention.

We continuously communicate with key stakeholders about their needs and keep our customers at the forefront of everything we do, gathering their input and expertise to stay prepared for major industry changes. We understand it’s important to be forward-thinking and stay fresh and relevant.

All the while, we’re a culture set in a family atmosphere. The fact that we remain a family-owned and operated business is one of our competitive advantages and it means a lot to our company and our employees.

Business is a lot like life: it’s about surrounding yourself with the right group of people; and our people are our differentiator. We know our success is due to the people we work with every day: our suppliers, our customers, the communities we reside in, and our employees.

Our vision is to provide leadership to our stakeholders, to the industries we are involved in, and with the products and solutions we provide. We are Trusted, Tested, and True.

Milestones

 

Eihusen Construction is founded, the inception of Chief Industries, Inc.

The company name was changed to Big Chief of Nebraska

Chief Agri is founded

Chief Buildings is founded

Chief hosts its 1st Annual Company Picnic at Izaak Walton Park in Grand Island, NE

Chief Agri Fort Dodge, IA plant is opened

Chief won the Partners in progress award from the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce

Virgil Eihusen was named Small Businessman of the year by the regional office of the Small Business Administration in Omaha

Chief Changes name from Big Chief of Nebraska, Inc. to Chief Industries, Incorporated

Chief Agri opens a fully automated grain bin plant in Rensselaer, IN

Chief Buildings plant expanded as operations grew

Chief opens BonnaVilla, a manufacturer of mobile homes in Aurora, NE

The first Dealer Incentive/Loyalty Trip was taken

Grand Island Contract Carriers was acquired

Chief started a Presidential Award Club to honor dealers and District Managers for achieving million-dollar sales volume goals

Chief Fabrication opens for business

Chief Buildings operations expands to the plant in Renssalaer, IN

Chief Ethanol is formed

Virgil Eihusen named Chairman Emeritus. Robert Eihusen named Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President

Heartland Electric was acquired

Chief Carriers expands operations to Renssalaer, IN

Arrowhead Steel Fabricators began

Chief Buildings expands technical service operations to Lincoln, NE

Robert G. Eihusen retired and DJ Eihusen is named Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President

Grand Island Contract Carriers officially became Chief Carriers, Inc.

Chief Development is formed with operations based out of Grand Island, NE

Chief Ethanol opens second plant in Lexington, NE

Chief Buildings expands operations to Fort Dodge, IA

Chief Construction expands operations to Lincoln, NE

Chief Agri Opens Operations in the Philippines

Chief Buildings Expands Operations to Eufaula, Alabama

Chief Buildings Expands Operations and Opens New Plant in Lancaster, South Carolina