The Weber Shoe Company was organized and incorporated in Missouri in 1939 by Fred J. Weber and Elmer Cohen. In the fall of 1951, it merged with the Wesseling Jordan Company which had a new plant in Tipton. (This plant had manufactured shoes for about a year in Tipton after moving from Eldon, Missouri.)

Green Shoe of Boston, Massachusetts acquired Weber Shoe in 1962. In the 1960's Green Shoe changed their name to Stride-Rite Corp.

From a beginning of about 600 pair a day, the present rate of production is up to 3,600 pair daily. The total Tipton employment at present is approximately 240, of which 170 are women.

Weber specializes in little girls' dressy shoes in four size runs: infants', childs', misses', and teens'. Brand names include: "Dress-Ups", "Sparkle Toes", "Alexis Originals", "Now", and "Minni".

Koechner's Manufacturing Co., owned and operated by Cecil Koechner, is located on Highway 50 East. Koechner started the business in Feb. 1960 on his dad's farm, west of Tipton, where he manufactured gas barrel racks and picnic table frames. In June, 1962, he moved to the Louis J. Knipp farm, Highway 50 West, expanding his business to include farrowing crates and turkey coops. In June, 1967, he moved to his own building and present location on Highway 50 East. A second building was added in 1972 and office space has just been completed, giving him a total of 17,000 sq. ft. Carry-alls and top link cylinder adapters have been added to the products manufactured. There are presently eight employees.

The Yontz Packing Company was built in 1946 by the late A.C. "Dorney" Yontz. The first building consisted of an office, cutting room, sausage and rendering room combined, two smoke houses, two coolers and a kill floor. In 1953 the building was enlarged. A.C.'s sons, Babe and Bill, joined their father in the business and have operated it since his death in 1966. They employ 12 men. Yontz"s specialize in cured ham, sausage and bacon.

The A.F. Martin Mfg. Company started a factory in Tipton, Missouri in the fall of 1936. It started with one unit, employing about 53 people, making 960 pair of men's trousers per day.

In 1938 an additional unit was added, increasing the production to 1,920 pair per day.

1939 and 1940 were peak years of production, at which time approximately 325 people were employed and 4,800 pair were produced each day. During this period approximately one million pair of trousers were made for the Army and Navy.

In 1944 the plant was rented to Oberman and Company and they operated it one year.

Mr. Martin resumed operation in 1945 and operated until 1947, at which time Biltwell Company leased the plant and have operated continuously up to the present time. Today the plant is known as the Tipton Manufacturing Company. Dick Haxel is the manager. The 131 employees produce an average of 2,000 pair of slacks per day.

Fischer Manufacturing Company was started in Tipton in 1949 by Ewald L. Fischer. He built his first crude table in his basement with the help of two assistants, an electric drill, a bench saw and other hand tools. As the years passed the table design improved and the company kept growing.

Seeing his success, other towns offered Fischer a free plant if he would move to their communities. But Ewald Fischer said no. "I was born here," he said, "I'm a Tipton boy and all my friends are here." Companies attempt­ing to buy his business never gave up. It was not until December 1968 that Fischer Manufacturing, the country's largest builder of pool tables at that time, was sold to Spalding Company, a division of Questor, the present owners.

The Tipton plant employs approximately 200 people.

Honeycomb Pla-Products, Inc. is a manufacturing company whose main product is a steel-reinforced playfield used in pool tables. Ewald Fischer started the company in 1968. In December, 1973, he sold to the present owners: Gene Knipp, Roger Verslues, and Wilbur Knipp.

The material used in the products is a paper honeycomb. To save on warehouse space, it is purchased in slice form in various sizes then expanded at the plant when ready to be used.

The company's other products include custom-built portable walls, skids, and small wooden utility buildings.

The Royal Axman, Inc., owned by Mr. and Mrs. David Schreck, makes backgammon boards, jewelry work centers, and watchmaker workbenches in the rural factory at Tipton. The business was started in 1972 as something to fill the slack periods of Schreck's construction company, but soon became his full-time business.

The factory employs 12 full-time persons. The operation of the factory is a family matter with the children working with their parents, too.

The name comes from a title given the finest woodscraftsman by the Egyptian pharoahs. Backgammon games were one of the things made by the Royal Axman for the court.

The Royal Axman backgammon table manufactured by Schreck has been purchased by Fischer Manufacturing Co. to be marketed nationally.

Leo's Ice Service was started in 1960 by Leo Koechner. The cube and block ice is frozen, sacked and sold. During peak production in the summer, 5,000 pounds of cube ice and 600-700 pounds of block ice are made in a 24-hour period.

Leo's ice plant is located near the Highways 5 and 50 intersection. He began using coin-operated ice dispen­sers in 1964. He delivers ice to stores and other businesses. Leo's ice is sold on both the wholesale and retail levels.