As appeared in Messenger-Inquirer
July 2010

50 & Still Flexible
By Joy Campbell

In June of 1960, Bob Hudson was looking for a summer job to help him finish his last year at Western Kentucky University. His new wife, Patsy Miller Hudson, had a job. The couple had met at the Bowling Green business college that is now part of Western.

Hudson landed a job at a small company then-called Kentucky Electronics. The 23-year-old never left. And in 2001, he became sole owner of the Owensboro company now known as Ken- Tron Manufacturing Inc.

In June, the plant’s 67 employees celebrated the 50th anniversary of a company that has stayed the course through recessions and morphed several times as technology and product markets have changed. Read more »

As appeared in Manufacturing Today
September/October 2006

Ken-tron Mfg., Inc. – Metal Stampings and Wire
Changing with the Times
By Stephanie Sims

For more than 45 years, Ken-tron Mfg., Inc. has provided metal stampings and wire to it’s customers around the world. That is one thing Rick Thompson, senior vice president, says he is proud of, noting that Ken-tron’s customer list is a Who’s Who of Fortune 500 companies.

This past June marked the company’s 46th year in business. In 1960, Erskine Precision Wire, a small wire company, moved from Pennsylvania to Owensboro, Ky. and changed its name to Kentucky Electronics (KE). According to Thompson, the first few years were a struggle for the company; it didn’t have a lot of revenue and experienced losses monthly. A turning point came in 1962, when Texas Gas Transmission bought controlling interest in KE, providing needed capital. Read more »