History of Ideal
Est 1945
Our Story
In 1945, John R. and Jessie Gaiser purchased Ideal Supplies which included 3.27 acres of land, a house and a garage at 512 Adela Street in Ludlow.
The family settled into the basement of the quaint gingerbread style house with their two sons Earl and Johnny (John L.) while the Gaiser’s worked the business mostly delivering coal, supplying lumber and building materials. John R. constructed 3 homes a few blocks away and the family moved to 330 Ludford Street.
In the years before Ideal was purchased, John R. was a general equipment operator and learned business through good conversation and a handshake. He was driven to expand the business offering more services and products to building supply customers and enjoyed learning new equipment while working on projects in NKy.
While John R. and Jessie were raising their 3 boys, they continued to add to the business. John R. was a hardworking, entrepreneur who over the years was able to learn all aspects of how to build anything from the ground up. Areas of growth included adding a fleet of mobile ready-mix concrete trucks, building a full-service hardware store, warehouse and maintenance garage, and expanding the yard to include top soil, sand, rock, mulch, boulders, block and other landscaping materials.
Conveniently located adjacent to the Southern Rail Road System, materials were brought into the yard on rail cars where many family members would be summoned to help unload and make deliveries.
Excavating projects became an integral part of the business as Earl, Johnny and especially Howard learned to operate the equipment and provide those services. In 1969, Ideal purchased the first mobile concrete truck and became Ideal Supplies Incorporated.
John R., Jessie, Earl, Johnny and Howard were all working to support the family business.
Upon the death of John R. in 1976 and Jessie in 1980, the business continued to grow and thrive due to the direct wisdom and leadership of Earl (deceased in 1986), John L. and Howard.
Today, you will be greeted with 3rd and 4th generation family members along with a team of dedicated employees working to provide the same complete, hands-on service to customers as John and Jessie Gaiser did in 1945.
Fun Facts:
The famous Ideal logo was created by Corky Moore, a local artist.
Also:
A warehouse was built in the lower acreage of the land for a vault company that moved in in the 70’s.