Company

Frank Phelps left the family farm in Oklahoma, at the turn of the Century, to work in town while his sons ran the farm operation. With his innovative ideas on ways to improve the ginning of cotton, he was offered an opportunity with a company that manufactured cotton gins in Little Rock, Arkansas. He accepted the challenge.

By 1915, the gin manufacturer decided to close, but Frank was still thinking and tinkering. He directed his ideas and energies toward manufacturing fans for cotton gins. When he and his oldest son, Morton F. Phelps, bought the building at 715 Thomas Street, along with the machinery from the now-closed gin manufacturer, they decided to also purchase enough steel to make five fans. Phelps Fan Manufacturing Company was born. The early years were marked by steady growth through establishing a reputation for building durable, trouble-free fans for cotton gin and sawmill applications. Bold new design and manufacturing concepts produced two unique fan models, the Model HV-1® and the Model 25-K® which became industry standards. Offering replaceable parts and the warehousing of them for immediate shipment, provided these easy-to-fix fans an exceptionally long service life. Many of these rugged fans are still in service today.