August 1940: The people of Akron, Ohio heralded the dedication of their 35,600 seat Rubber Bowl and the running of the seventh International Soap Box Derby. But for a four-member family named Jones, August 8th presented the most pivotal event of their personal history as its 46-year-old father took himself and a dollar bill to the Summit County Auditor's Office to purchase a vendor's license.

Thus Akron Bearing Company was born. The father was Ralph D. Jones.

At that time Jones was on the threshold of becoming Akron's ex-branch manager for the Ahlberg Bearing Company, a national manufacturer and distributor of bearings. By the late 1930's, Ahlberg was floundering amidst the economic woes of the Depression. One of its solutions was to close its branch offices. Ralph and his wife Fanny faced this threat by taking the risk of opening their own business. Loans from two friends and credit from Ahlberg that enabled a 4% loan from the Firestone Bank made it possible for them to set their daughters to the task of addressing post cards…post cards that announced the Ahlberg Bearing Company was now the Akron Bearing Company.

With a rented typewriter, a scarred wooden desk, an upright telephone, rent of $10 a month, and a freight bill of $6.62 for miscellaneous bearings purchased for $39.47, Akron Bearing was open for business. Shortly after getting on its feet, the company was dealt a crucial blow when Ralph Jones suffered a serious heart attack. Housewife Fanny kept the doors open with the help of taxi cab drivers for transportation (she did not drive), customers who came behind the counter to help with stock and interchanges (she knew nothing about bearings), and neighbors to help tend her stricken husband. Akron Bearing became a successful “Mom and Pop” operation being able to pay back their debt in five years. They came to be known for their personal service, even opening for customer's emergency night calls.

In 1945, daughter Mary married Akronite Lawrence Kalgreen, a young Air Force pilot who had spent eight months in Germany as a POW. Larry soon became Akron Bearing's first employee. In 1954, daughter Pat married Cleveland attorney Jack Fickes who twice had interrupted his education to serve in the Army. He too joined the firm.

The Company was incorporated in 1957, and in 1963 ownership of the company passed on to the Kalgreen and Fickes families, and the business continued to flourish. Larry donned the title of President/Treasurer and Jack the title of Vice President/Secretary. But then, as now, titles meant little. All shared whatever work presented itself, from sales to stocking shelves to swabbing floors to heating a pot of soup for a quick lunch. Also maintained was the tradition of serving each customer, big or small, as a friend. One quip that became a truism is, “We don't sell the customer what he asks for but what he needs.”

The company grew and so did the number of employees. As each of the Kalgreen and Fickes family children became old enough, they were encouraged to do more than just help count year-end inventory or romp about the building while there with Dad on a night call. They were brought in to experience the business founded by their grandparents.

In 1980 Jack Fickes passed away, but one of his children still serves as a member of the Akron Bearing workforce. His son, Mike Fickes (Executive Vice President), functions as the head of Purchasing for the company. With Larry Kalgreen's passing in 2008, his legacy included four of his five children and his son-in-law helping to staff the business. His son, Pete Kalgreen, served as President from 1990 until he stepped down in 2021, his son Matt (Vice President) still works in sales., while Sue and Kathie served in the accounting departments until 2020. Kathie's husband, Allen (Vice President and Treasurer), was the network administrator for the company while occasionally helping inside sales until his passing in 2020.

Today the family can boast of having its 4th generation choose Akron Bearing as their career. Steve Kalgreen (Matt's son) started in Sales in 2005, took over the mantle of President in June of 2021. Jessica Cook (Allen and Kathie's daughter) joined the accounting department in 2001 and became Vice-President in 2021. Libby Fickes (Mike's daughter) integrated into the sales workforce in 2004 and Vice-President in 2021. DJ (Dan) Kalgreen (also Matt's son) decided to become a full-time salesman in 2010 and Vice-President/Treasurer in 2021.

Despite the inevitable changes in three-quarters of a century of time brings, the people who are Akron Bearing Company continue to demonstrate the spirit of Ralph and Fanny Jones: personal and expert service marked by respect for customer, vendor, and employee. These are the values of a family business born of adversity, built by courage, and supported by valued friends, family, and customers.