Royal City's Callahan Mfg. celebrates 55 years

ROYAL CITY – Walking into Callahan Manufacturing in Royal City, the first things a patron sees are loads of parts for tractors and other machinery. The second, at least Tuesday afternoon, is a pup named Ember with bright white-blue eyes and a wagging tail.  

Dean and Nancy Callahan opened the business 55 years ago and had an open house, complete with a four-legged cohost, from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday. Community members wandered in and out eating donuts, drinking cold beverages and exchanging stories with the Callahans.  

“We graduated in ‘64 and we got married in ‘65 and so (Dean) was farming for his grandpa, but his grandpa moved to Canada,” Nancy said. “And so, he decided he wanted to work on cars and trucks and different things, so he got a loan (from a bank), and he got a couple pieces of equipment so he could work on things.”  

Dean said the idea of working on cars and farm equipment came about, in part at least, because he was good with his hands and was often helping people in and around the community repair their vehicles and tractors. When farming with his grandfather was no longer an option, he opted to open the shop at the suggestion of several locals who said they liked his work and needed a shop that could provide the services.  

The couple still does repair work on all sorts of equipment, but they said the big moneymaker for their business is the Callahan Hoist – basically, a device that turns a trailer on a big rig into a large dump truck bed. Developing the design was a bit of trial and error though, Dean said.  

“I made (the first one) out of metal tubing, and I thought ‘Boy, I’m smart.’ And about the next stage up (in the test run) it folded over and laid on the ground,” Dean said.  

At first, Dean said he figured he wasn’t as smart as he’d thought and let the prototype sit on a scrap heap for a few months.  

The idea kept at him though, and it occurred to him that an I-beam or similar structure might work to support the load without giving out like the tubed steel had. The next model worked, and the company now makes what is believed to be the highest-capacity trailer hoist in the world.  

Once the first one was produced, Nancy said an order from California came in for six hoists, including installation. The business took off after that.  

Dean said the process takes a couple weeks to manufacture a hoist, so customers get their orders relatively quickly. There is a waitlist to get them, but the Callahans and their staff usually have several in production at once and it makes it, so they don’t need deposits for the work. If someone cancels an order, the next person in line gets their product a bit faster. 

The couple are both 78 years old now and have been married 59 years. They don’t think they’ll be retiring soon and said they enjoy getting up and going to work at the business that has helped them raise a family and helped their children start businesses and become successful. They expressed great pride in the success of their children and grandchildren.  

Both had some simple advice for those who want to open a business and make it successful.  

“You’ve got to be honest,” Dean said. “You know, you can’t cheat somebody once. They won’t come back. So, if you’re honest and fair with what you do, they’ll keep coming.” 

A strong work ethic, even when money is tight and you’re “broke” is important as well. Dean said the couple had been broke several times but managed to work it out.  

“We just keep working. We just keep coming to work anyway,” Nancy said.  

Royal City resident Bob Wieldraayer said the Callahans have treated the community right and been there for many people in the community as friends and through their business.  

“They embody what we’re supposed to be as individuals,” he said. 

CALLAHAN MFG. 

219 Balsam St. NW
Royal City, WA 99357 

Phone: (509) 346 - 2208

    Flat steel bars with a curve at the end are created toward the beginning of the process to make a Callahan brand hoist. I-beam style supports make for stronger products than tube supports, Dean Callahan said.
  

    Once the pieces for one of the side supports for a hoist are assembled, they’re pressed together by this machine and then welded on a nearby fixture to hold their shape.
  

    Dean Callahan shows how one of the special fixtures in the Callahan Manufacturing facility rotates the hoists so that the various pieces can be welded safely and with better quality.
  

    The fifth wheel on a tractor trailer must be modified to accommodate a Callahan Hoist. The Callahans’ machines are rated for an 80,000-pound load and help haul everything from potatoes to scrap metal.
  

    A Callahan hoist outside the factory door ready for installation onto a cargo rig. The system is operated using hydraulics.
  

    A Callahan hoist on display at the company’s 55th anniversary celebration Tuesday. Lifting the trailers like a long dump truck can help reduce the manual labor involved in loading and unloading cargo.