Industrialist George R. Eusner honored with memorial bridge

The bridge over Sweetwater creek on State Route 49 was renamed George R. Eusner Memorial Bridge in honor of the industrialist who founded MULCOA, with a ceremony talking place July 30. Paul Hall, former employee, gave the welcome and recognition of guests, and told of working with Eusner. “Sometimes he was a tough boss, sometimes he was like a father, but all the times, he was a friend.”

Rev. Gene Simmons led the pledge and invocation. Representative Patty Stinson then addressed those gathered. She talked about how Susan Warner, with the Payroll Development authority, originated the idea nearly two and a half years prior. “Susan reached out to me, and brought this idea to my attention, and Chairman Cheokas and I went to work, and here we are today.” She thanked those in attendance for their presence, and recognized representative Cathy Williams from District 2.

Representative Mike Cheokas made an address, thanking Stinson, talking of their collaboration. “First thing is I want to recognize Paul Hall. Thank you for your service.” He thanked him for his work in Andersonville at the Mullite company and the Payroll Development Authority. He recognized several other notable attendees, including Rusty Warner, executive director of the Payroll Development Authority, and Sherif Eric Bryant. He also recognized Bob Schuster and Billy Shattles, calling them “dedicated members of the Mullite community.”

Cheokas talked about the significance of MULCOA. “When you have an industry like this come to our community in a small town like Andersonville in a small county like Sumter, it’s greatly appreciated and it’s visionary.”

Cheokas then read a proclamation, charting the history of Eusner’s career after graduating from Virginia Polytechnic institute in 1942. In 1964, Eusner saw a need for calcine mullite for the refractory market, leading him to come to Andersonville where raw materials from the Georgia Kalin company were available. Cheokas spoke of his cooperation with the mayor of Andersonville, and the creation of a plant that could produce 50 tons per week of quality calcine mullite, founding MULCOA shortly after.

Scot Graddick spoke, followed by Tim McCarthy. McCarthy told his memories of Eusner. “He left a mark on everybody. He could almost be disarming but he was one of the smartest guy’s I’ve ever had the privilege to work with.”

Eusner’s sons Paul Eusner and Marty Eusner made addresses. Marty Eusner spoke of the work ethic he had learned from his father, sharing stories about unloading the fire kilns. “Before I got through the front door for dinner, my Dad would say ‘did you get the fire kilns unloaded?’ That was the first question. After that, everything was okay.”

He told a story he had heard about his father from his interactions with Georgia Power. “My dad was really PO’d about every time the power would go off. He would call Georgia Power the no-power company.” Marty Eusner recalled hearing a story about his father setting up a meeting with three or four executives. He was told how it unfolded by members of the company. “We all sit down, he reached into his pocket, [pulls] out his pistol. These guys are in shock, they don’t know what he’s gonna to do. And he says, ‘I want you guys to feel the way I feel when the power goes off.’”

Marty Eusner also spoke of his father’s generosity. “Workers would come in with a problem, or come in there with some financial issues, and he would do whatever he could to help.” He told how his father would have appreciated the dedication. “If my dad was here, he would be very humbled.”

Dilip Jain is a ceramic engineer who worked for MULCOA for 27 years. “I came from India, in 71. I went to Virginia Tech, did my masters.” He talked about how after that, he started working for MULCOA. Jann talked about what working with Eusner was like. “He was a task master, but he was very fair. He had a heart of gold and I don’t think. . . that we will ever see a person like him in our lifetime, because his vision, his insistence on quality, his insistence on taking care of people, and doing the best possible that you can do.”

Jann talked about Eusner’s lasting impact. “I have traveled around the world, selling MULCOA, and 70 years later, still today it is the gold standard all around the world.”

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