Originally named the L.H Kellogg Chemical Company. At the time, he was attending the University of Minnesota, completing a degree in Mortuary Science, as well as working in his family’s funeral home. With Mr. Hodroff’s keen sense of vision, and a $100 bank loan, Kelco began to grow. In 1971, Amedco, a corporate firm, acquired the company from Mr. Hodroff, and retained ownership until 1986, when they sold to Service Corp International. (SCI) Even though Kelco remained a successful business, it just wasn’t part of SCI’s overall plan for their future, and in 1990 they offered the sale of the company to Nira Mesker, who was the Controller for more than 15 years, and had been with the company since 1971. Nira was quite an entrepreneur, and decided to take on the challenge of owning her own business. This transition back to a privately owned company was smooth, and positioned the company for continued success at a much faster pace. Nira went right to work with explosive growth over the next several years. During this period, Nira started to groom her children as part of her succession plan. Although, all of Nira’s three children worked in some capacity within the business, her daughter, Alicia Carr was the only one to take an interest to the business and the industry. Working side-by-side, learning all aspects of the business from shipping and receiving, to customer service, to the financial accounting pieces, Alicia enjoyed working for her mother. So, groomed as she was, Alicia was offered a place in management in 2001 when Nira decided it was her time for retirement. Little did she know that just two years after retirement, Nira would fall ill with cancer and it would take her life in just two short years. Nira lost her battle with cancer in May of 2003. Determined to continue the legacy of which her mother had started, Alicia bought the company out of her family’s estate in 2004 and took over as the new owner. Kelco continues to be an independently owned, family run business. Alicia is determined to operate as a successful business for her clients, as well as the extremely dedicated and talented employees who work here. The cornerstone of Kelco’s business will always remain the same; we are committed to Service.
