MANSFIELD — Rick Taylor has served on nearly every committee of the Gorman-Rupp board of directors since he was appointed in 2003.
After 20 years on the board, Taylor announced in January he wouldn’t seek re-election to the board. His last day will be April 27.
“I’m very grateful to have served this long on the board,” Taylor said. “I felt I clicked with Gorman-Rupp, being in manufacturing myself and with the company’s values.”
Taylor is the former president of Jay Industries and still serves on its board. The third-generation entrepreneur grew the company’s metal and plastic productions and served as the president of Longview Steel Corporation.
Taylor said some of his proudest accomplishments on the Gorman-Rupp board of directors were seeing the offices at Harrington Memorial Road built and helping to oversee the recent Fill-Rite Company acquisition.
“I was also on the board when the company went public in 2011,” Taylor said. “They run their business like a public company in the stock exchange now, but locally, it still has the feel of a small business.”
Taylor has received many local awards and recognitions, including being inducted into the North Central State College Hall of Excellence in 2011 and receiving the Richland County Chamber Chairman’s award in 2005.
He was also inducted into the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum’s Champions of Industry Hall of Fame in 2021.
Taylor founded Cypress Hill Winery in 2009 with his wife, Carol, and their friends Gary and Jan Jones. The Taylors opened Hudson & Essex above the winery in 2018.
The couple have donated to multiple community improvement projects locally, including the Scholl Road YMCA facility and Kingwood Center Expansion.
Scott King, president and CEO of Gorman-Rupp, said he was never surprised to see Taylor working on weekends or early mornings, even at 75 years old.
“His work ethic definitely stands out,” King said. “He has some resources, but he’s the type of guy who still drives an old pick-up truck and wears old overalls.”
King said Gorman-Rupp was happy to have Taylor visit the Fill-Rite facility before acquiring the company last year.
“The board valued his opinion when it came time to weigh in on making the acquisition,” he said.“Any large piece of equipment we bought, if Rick had questions, he would ask — but he was always supportive of capacity additions and efficiency improvements.”
Gorman-Rupp executive chairman Jeff Gorman said Taylor always had common sense when making board decisions.
“He was a firm believer in if you’re doing something, it should be saving you money or making you money,” Gorman said. “We are very appreciative for his expertise over the years and he’s made a big difference in a lot of our successes, and we thank him very much for that.”
Brigette Burnell, Gorman-Rupp executive vice president and corporate secretary, said Taylor enjoyed facility tours and talking with employees when he wasn’t in board meetings.
“Sometimes to the point of needing extra encouragement to return to the board meetings — he’d rather be in the factory,” she said. “He’s a hands-on guy.”
Burnell said she once took a Gorman-Rupp intern to Hudson & Essex for lunch and saw Taylor fixing patio umbrellas.
“From the intern’s perspective, we stopped and chatted with two of the maintenance workers at Hudson & Essex,” she said. “You wouldn’t know that he owned the restaurant from that interaction.”
King said the Gorman-Rupp board knows where to find Taylor if they ever need his advice.
“It will just come with a dinner bill,” he laughed. “We’re sure he’ll succeed in whatever he does in the future and have definitely appreciated his expertise at Gorman-Rupp.”
Taylor said stepping down from the board of directors won’t free up a lot of time for him. The YMCA board member expects to be involved in decisions regarding the new facility near Bellville, and he plans to spend more time with his grandkids.
“I’m not bored,” he said. “I like staying busy and I’ll continue to do that.”
Taylor will be honored for his service at Gorman-Rupp’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders on April 27.
