Obituary - Andrew Vogel, 103; Dutch Immigrant Founded Iowa's Diamond Vogel Paints
Mr. Vogel was born April 29, 1896, in Berlikum, Freisland, The Netherlands. He immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1913 and served in the U.S. Army during World War I. After settling in northwest Iowa and first trying his hand at farming, he turned to the family trade of painting and paintmaking that he had learned from his father. In 1926, he began producing Orange-Brand paint in Orange City.
By the 1940s, the Vogel Paint and Wax Co. had been formed. After the acquisition of the Diamond Products Co. of Marshalltown, IA, in 1967, the Diamond Vogel Paint trademark was established. The company, a manufacturer of architectural, industrial and specialty coatings, currently operates five manufacturing plants and 80 company-owned stores in 12 Midwestern states.
Mr. Vogel retired from the company in 1965, and soon after began building the “Vogel Windmill” in front of the company’s Orange City paint-manufacturing plant. The full-sized working windmill features a stone mill used for grinding paint pigments as well as living quarters similar to those used by a Dutch miller’s family. The mill has become a popular tourist stop, and is available year-round for tours to guests visiting the company’s Orange City headquarters.
Mr. Vogel is survived by five sons, Frank, retired as president of Diamond Vogel Paints; George; John; Arthur; and Marvin. John, Frank and Marvin also worked for the company and are now retired. Mr. Vogel also is survived by two daughters, Bertha Stephenson and Margaret Roghair. Vogel Paints is currently headed by Drew Vogel, Andrew Vogel’s grandson. Another grandson, Mark Vogel, is marketing director, Industrial Coatings; and grandson Douglas Vogel is marketing director, Architectural Coatings.
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