G.R.I. employs nearly 300 people in the manufacture of its pushbutton, proximity and burglar alarm switches.

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For George Risk Industries (G.R.I.), its products’ quality is a top priority. Based in Kimball, Neb., it is a manufacturer of security products, data-entry peripherals, pushbutton, proximity and burglar alarm switches.   

G.R.I. was originally founded by George Risk, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native with a longtime interest in electricity. Born in 1912, “He set up a shop at the back of his boyhood home and built his first radio by the age of 10,” the company says. “With the aid of an aerial and telephone receiver, he was able to get Davenport, Iowa.”   

When Risk moved to Omaha, Neb., in 1938, he started Electronic Development Corp., which re­searched perfecting war weapons and peacetime luxuries, G.R.I. says. “At the same time, he was operating his electronic radio-television institute, which trained 7,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines, under contract with the government during World War II. The school also prepared women to become communications clerks.”   

Risk sold his school in 1944, and operated Electronic Development until a fire destroyed it five years later. “He and his co-workers were just beginning production on a $1 million contract, furnishing television picture tubes and parts for a television manufacturer,” the company says.   

In the following years, Risk became executive vice president of American TB Laboratories, a television tube manufacturer, and formed Dale Products, a small electronics company named after his son. He also participated in the nuclear fusion testing in 1955 at White Sands, Nev., to prepare data on the effects of nuclear detonations on communications, the company says.    

“In 1968, he found a defunct and inoperative public company and fiercely raised the necessary monies to pay off its creditors,” G.R.I. says, adding that it later took on the name George Risk Industries.   

With G.R.I., Risk entered the venture with “gusto, letting all of his inventive genius come into play,” G.R.I. says. “At about this time, a group of businessmen from Kimball negotiated with [Risk] to relocate G.R.I. to Kimball from Columbus, [Neb.]”   

Risk brought G.R.I. to the city, with the vow of employing a minimum of five workers, the company says. Now, “G.R.I. employs close to 300 and has a satellite plant in Gering, Neb.,” the company says. Risk’s son, Ken Risk, was appointed president and CEO after his father’s death in 1989.

‘Only the Finest’
Today, G.R.I. is a vertically integrated manufacturing firm with its own in-house facilities for tool and die injection molding, engineering and production. “Our name and logo are found on other products other than security switches,” the company says.   

For instance, “G.R.I. produces the air traffic control board used by the FAA in their control towers across the nation,” the company says. “One of our pushbutton switches is a special design, specifically for the FAA’s use.”   

G.R.I. notes that its engineering department uses in-house CAD/CAM and Solidworks to design its clients’ security contacts, as well as custom designed keyboards and switches for applications in the military, aerospace, industrial and medical fields.   

Additionally, “At G.R.I., only the finest raw materials are used in producing a contact switch you can install with confidence,” the company says. “Our purchasing department requires vendors to meet or exceed our specifications on reeds, plastic, wire and potting material.”   

In addition, the company says that its quality assurance department will inspect all switches before they leave each phase of production to ensure quality. “Our zero-defect program is the standard our employees follow,” the company says.

A Charitable Spirit
The company has maintained the charitable spirit of its founder. According to the company, George Risk was one of the founders of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tenn., and served on the board for several years.   

“As a remembrance to [Risk], his employees still today donate to St. Jude’s in his name at Christmastime,” the company explains, noting that it matches the donation from its em­ployees every year.