Tue, January 17, 2017
President, Magnum Venus Products
Peter Hedger is President of Magnus Venus Products. Pete has oversight and management responsibilities for operational aspects of the company. He has earned a degree in accounting and has managed accounting, sales and a branch office in Tennessee. He has been with the company full-time since 1977.
Founded in 1938 in Chicago by Jim Hedger Sr. as a distributor for coating equipment, Graves Spray Supply grew at a rapid pace. In keeping with the tradition of full-service equipment distribution, Graves embarked on the newly developing industry of spray-up fiberglass manufacturing dispensing systems. In doing so, Graves became the largest FRP equipment distributor in North America and maintained that place until the early 1980s.
In the early 1970s, Mr. Hedger saw the potential of the emerging fiberglass industry and founded Magnum Industries for the design and manufacture of spray-up fiberglass manufacturing equipment. Mr. Hedger focused the company's efforts on developing the equipment that would begin to shape this promising new industry.
In September 2000, Graves Spray Supply (Magnum Industries) acquired Venus Products. This merger created a new company, Magnum Venus Products (MVP). As the leader in the FRP industry, Magnum Venus Products was committed to supplying the most innovative technology available on the market. Mr. Hedger personally oversaw the integration of the two companies and their technologies. Magnum Venus Products was now the largest FRP equipment manufacturer in the world, serving the needs of the small shop to supplying the demands of large automated and Advanced FRP operations.
The founder of MVP, Jim Hedger Sr., passed in 2010, leaving a great legacy for the family to follow. There are now approximately 15 family members who work in the company, both full- and part-time. The company employs a little over 150 people and has distributors throughout the country and world.