Gustafson was born into a fourth-generation Swedish family of fruit farmers in Ludington. Besides going to school and working on the farm, Gustafson earned extra money raising and selling worms to local fishermen and raising cattle. When he graduated from high school in 1955, he bought a small fishing boat and set out on Lake Michigan as a commercial fisherman. Most of the time, he was out alone on the boat, working with large nets as a crew of one. After three years, he decided to stick to dry land and moved to Lansing to complete a tool and die apprenticeship at Olofsson. When his apprenticeship ended, it was on to Detroit where he worked for four years in numerous tool and die shops. Returning to Lansing in 1966, he went to work for Cameron Tool & Die, and then, in 1968, was hired as president of Globe Industries, an auto parts supplier. He remained in this position until 1971. In that year, Gustafson and two partners started Uptilt, a Lansing based manufacturing plant making automotive parts and employing 250. Between 1971 and 1993, Uptilt sparked the development of Diversified Finishes, a plant that coated automotive parts; Atmosphere Annealing, still in business today with over 300 employees and plants in Canton, Ohio, Indiana and Lansing; Trumark, a stamping plant in Lansing making automotive parts for Oldsmobile; Cobblers Bench, a family shoe store originally in Holt but now in Frandor Shopping Center and currently owned by the former store manager; AND (are you keeping up?) he also purchased 88 acres of farmland near Mason, an operation known as Gustafson Farms, which has grown to encompass 2,200 acres and produces corn, soybeans and wheat. Gustafson is no “gentleman farmer” and is in the fields himself on a regular basis.

It was Gustafson’s latest venture that earned him the Entrepreneurial Award in the retail category. D & G Equipment, Inc. was founded in 1993 when Gustafson learned that the two John Deere dealers in Ingham County were retiring. The Mason D & G opened on October 18, 1993, and the Williamston dealership opened 15 days later. (The “D” and “G” in the business name stand for “dirt” and “grass,” since the equipment sold is used to maintain customers’ fields and lawns.) Just five years later, in 1998, D & G Equipment was number one in sales of John Deere lawn and garden equipment in North America and Canada. Never one to be content with the status quo, Gustafson has since opened five more dealerships, in Howell, Charlotte, Corunna, Highland and Rives Junction. Today, D & G employs 110 to 120 people and is open 64 hours a week in its peak season (April, May and June). Although future plans depend on economic conditions, the organization is set up for an additional three sites. D & G’s website (www.dgequipment.com) includes information and descriptions of available products and services and even features an eBay store for gifts, toys, clearance and used products.

Gustafson contended that it’s his wife, Jolene, who keeps things running day to day. His sons, Anders Gustafson and Brandon Blain, also work in the business. Gustafson himself tries to get to all his stores frequently, usually making it to at least three or four locations a day, and is in contact via cell phone when he’s not available in person. His staff is encouraged to call him to resolve a problem or just tell him about what’s happening.

Gustafson encourages his staff to grow both professionally and personally. Almost every one of his 120 employees takes classes offered via the Internet or at locations throughout the United States. He feels that keeping up with changes in the industry is essential to maintaining the growth of the organization and continuing to satisfy customer needs.

According to Gustafson, “I look forward to every day. I love what I do, and I have fun doing it. I feel like I have the best job in the world.”

A person would be hard pressed to find someone with a more entrepreneurial spirit than Elden Gustafson, and his award as Master Entrepreneur is certainly well earned. And, until that self-imposed deadline of age 88, look for Gustafson to continue with all the energy and enthusiasm he has shown throughout his life.