Omaha is home to many long-standing companies. One of the first two companies in Omaha that is still in existence, NP Dodge, was created in 1855. Sean Robinson spoke with NP Dodge and two other companies for our cover story on centennial companies in Omaha.
One of Omaha’s most well-known legacies, Omaha Steaks, is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. One family in Omaha is itself a legacy at Omaha Steaks—five members of Bob Bezousek’s clan have worked there during the past 47 years, along with several nieces and nephews.
Railroading has always been big in Omaha. Union Pacific Corp. began in 1862, and House of Trains began in 1936. Not familiar with the latter? Three generations of the Mrsnys, over the past 80 years, have introduced model train sets to kids young and not-so-young at their family-ownedrhobby shop.
Another legacy in Omaha is its long-standing tradition of philanthropy. The Salvation Army began in Omaha in 1912. Its current leaders, Majors Greg and Lee Ann Thompson, have both been involved with the organization since they were youngsters—Greg, in fact, first came to the Salvation Army at one week old.
The city continues to evolve and attract new companies and new employees. High paid tech jobs are especially vital to growing the economy, and Greater Omaha Chamber and AIM Institute have collaborated on an initiative called Tech Talent Growth. This initiative strives to get 20,000 tech workers in place by 2020. While that seems like a huge number of employees, consider that Omaha already had more than 15,000 tech employees by 2015.
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