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Business & Tech

Local Business Profile: Copley Feed and Supply

For more than 70 years, this local business has helped people in Fairlawn and Bath -- and beyond -- feed their animals, plant their gardens and care for their lawns.

While staying true to its old-time feed store roots and its commitment to treating customers right, Copley Feed and Supply has adapted and found success with new products and new clientele.

Although the business can no longer custom grind animal feed to order because of restrictions imposed by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, co-owner Nancy Roesner said they have found other ways to meet customer needs. One of those ways is home delivery. Copley Feed employees do home deliveries and are willing to go that extra step – or flight of stairs.

“If they need their [water softener] salt carried to the basement, we carry it to the basement for no extra charge,” Roesner said. “If they’re elderly and they need their water softener filled [with salt], we fill it for them,” Roesner said. That service and the store’s diversity of products, knowledge and commitment to customer service are what set Copley Feed apart from its competitors, Roesner added.

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The Akron Zoo is one of Copley Feed’s biggest customers, purchasing products such as flamingo chow and monkey food. The store also supplies the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy with rat food for its lab animals, Roesner said.

The store draws customers from as far as North Canton, Kent, Medina and Hudson, Roesner said. Many of them come for the store personnel’s expertise in animal nutrition. Employees attend training seminars each year to learn about animal nutrition. Roesner said she often designs a feed program for animals that are having a problem and can call on the store’s suppliers for additional help.

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Roesner said she and her husband try to stock as many U.S.-made products as they possibly can. “I want quality. I wouldn’t sell anything I wouldn’t take home and use myself. Quality products keep customers happy, she said.”

Roesner, who has worked at Copley Feed continuously since she was 16, provided answers to the questions that follow.

Company name:

Copley Feed and Supply Co., Inc.

How long have you been in business?

Copley Feed and Supply was started in 1939 on Sawmill Road, just north of the present location, by Richard and Esther Klotz. Their son, Walter, took over in 1945 and ran the business with his wife, Doris. Current owners Mark and Nancy Roesner, who began working at Copley Feed as teenagers in the 1960s, took over the business in 1980.

How many people are employed?

Copley Feed and Supply has 10 employees year round.

Where is the company headquartered?

1468 South Cleveland-Massillon Road, Copley. The Klotz family relocated the business from Sawmill Road to a barn at this address in 1945. The barn was the center of operations until the Roesner’s built the current store eight years ago. The barn still is used to warehouse stock.

What is your product/service?

Copley Feed and Supply sells a wide range of products from Purina Mills and Kalmbach horse feed to bulk garden seeds and vegetable and flower plants. Copley Feed also sells lawn and garden supplies such as fertilizers, straw, lime and peat moss.

The store stocks Muck boots, animal themed ladies socks and Amish-made dog houses and rabbit hutches. The store began carrying Traeger grills, which are fueled with wood pellets, last year. Bird feeders and bird food also are popular items at the store.

What is your goal for the company?

“We want to give customer service that our customers deserve. We treat everyone one-on-one.” Copley Feed strives to keep the old fashioned values of its business intact, said Nancy Roesner. The store is closed on Sunday so employees can spend time with their families, she added.

Hours:

Copley Feed and Supply is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The store is closed on Sunday.

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