Dave Thomas
Dave started out in the family propane and welding supply business while still in high school. He joined the Army in 1955 and went on to Military Police training, and served in a reserve unit for several years prior to his honorary discharge.
He and his wife Mariel married in 1960, with their first son coming as a first anniversary present in 1961, followed by two more children. He continued working in the family business until 1976 when the welding supply division he managed was sold and he decided to move on to a farm and industrial supply business until 1981. He then went to work for the Acme Dunham Company in Bangor, covering Aroostook County.
While at Acme Dunham, Dave heard of a gentleman by the name of Ed Buschmann through one of his co-workers, Neal Johnson. At the time, one of Dave's biggest selling items was steel strapping, which he sold to lumber mills. In the fall of 1982, Acme Dunham experienced financial difficulties and was unable to purchase the strapping his customers needed. Dave contacted Ed and asked if he had an interest in getting into the steel strapping business. Ed was reluctant, for fear of jeopardizing his relationship with Acme Dunham, but provided the funding to purchase steel to keep Dave's customers going for a couple of months. Acme Dunham then went out of business at the end of 1982.
Dave and Neal contacted Ed at the beginning of the new year and met with Ed in Lewiston shortly after. That meeting resulted in both Dave and Neal becoming Distributors for E. A. Buschmann, Inc., with Dave handling his home area of Aroostook County. As of this writing, Dave has enjoyed a wonderful relationship with E. A. Buschmann, Inc. for 27 years and counting!
