Charles W. Gehrke — From Melon Fields to Moon Rocks

ABC Labs’ 50th Anniversary Celebrated August 17, 2018

A business making it to 50 years in the same location and market is due to one thing: the hard work of the people said an executive at Eurofins, the company that now owns ABC Labs.

Tim Oostdyk, Group Senior Vice President at Eurofins, made the comment at ABC Labs’ barbeque lunch celebration on Thursday, Aug. 9 at the company’s Discovery Ridge location.

At the event, he lauded ABC Labs founder the late Charles W. Gehrke for instilling the two guiding principles of the company: great science and a love for people.

The celebration included a cake marking the 50th anniversary of the company started in 1968.

Gehrke’s children were on hand for the celebration. Jon Gehrke is an orthopedic surgeon in Des Moines, Iowa, and Susan Gehrke Isaacson is an attorney and CPA in Minneapolis. Former board members and employees also attended.

Jon Gehrke and Susan Isaacson, the children of ABC Labs founder Charles W. Gehrke. They were on hand to celebrate ABC Lab’s 50th anniversary on Aug. 9, 2018.

Oostdyk said the combination of people skills and scientific drive is crucial to the success in the scientific contract testing business which requires fulfilling the demands of customers and conducting challenging scientific research.

ABC Labs was bought out by  EAG Labs in 2015 and then purchased by Eurofins Scientific in 2017.

Back in the day

ABC Labs got its start in 1968 through those principles of science and people skills and the hard work of three people, Gehrke, Jim Ussary and David Stalling, two of Gehrke’s former graduate students.

Each man brought his own science and skills to the job.

For the first six months, the company operated out of a desk in Ussary’s home. His contribution to the firm’s development included his scientific problem solving and sales skills.

Stalling was a whiz at scientific instruments and literally helped build the first few buildings at ABC Labs out of materials recycled from his father’s work clearing away buildings for the creation of Interstate 70.

Gehkre said he raised funds to get the company off the ground, collecting $200,000 within six months, an amount which would be more than $1.4 million today.

From those origins, ABC Labs grew until it employed 300 people prior to its 2015 buyout by EAG Labs and the 2017 purchase by Eurofins.

A farmer to scientist story

The humble beginnings — and ups and downs — of this global firm are detailed in the book “From Melon Fields to Moon Rocks.” 

The biography of Gehrke describes his tough start and his ups and downs as well. He grew up in the tiny town of Canal Lewisville, Ohio, having to work in neighboring farm fields to help support his family. His ticket out of farming literally came from his oldest brother, who put him on a train to Ohio State University, telling him he wanted a better life than farming for his brother.

From there, his education and scientific career would propel Gehrke to head up a scientific team that analyzed the moon rocks from the NASA Apollo moon landings and found ABC Labs.

Learn More

To read more about the path Charles took from a small town in Ohio to founder of a scientific firm, the book, “From Melon Fields to Moon Rocks,” is available at the following Columbia locations:

• Yellow Dog Bookshop, 8 S. Ninth St.
• Columbia Mall Barnes & Noble
• Boone County History and Culture Center at 3801 Ponderosa St., Columbia.

Online:

• Barnes & Noble,
• amazon.com or
• This website by mail for $20 plus tax and shipping.

If you’d like to hear more about Charles, ABC Labs and the writing of this book, Dianna O’Brien is available for talks and presentations.