Kalona

On an overcast Thursday morning, I sat down with Kalona Blacksmith & Welding owner Bob Yoder at his shop. 

Between answering calls about his upcoming open house, he pulled up a chair and talked about his career as a welder, why he is considering selling the shop and its tools, and his work as a Washington County supervisor.

All around us were the tools he has collected over the years. If you offered the right price, Yoder might sell you one.

After more than 40 years of owning Kalona Blacksmith & Welding, Yoder is ready for a change. A longtime Kalona resident and current Washington County supervisor, he is thinking about selling the business.

Yoder has worked at the same location since opening the business in 1984. He bought the welding shop building and lot for $18,000, plus the cost of its inventory.

Now, in 2026, Yoder is 71 and nearing 72. He said he no longer has quite the energy he once did.

“I’ve finally decided I’m ready to make some changes. I had rotator cuff surgery about a year ago, and I’ve recovered. I’ve regained some of my abilities, but I haven’t gotten all of them back.”

Yoder had worked as a welder for years before opening his Kalona shop. He completed Kirkwood’s welding program and worked three or four welding jobs before starting the business in 1984.

He also wants to devote more time to his supervisor role. Yoder was elected to the Washington County Board of Supervisors in 2012 and began his first term in 2013. Since then, he has divided his time between county work and the shop.

“After I got elected, I put less time in here because of my supervisor job. I’m still here, but I got my time split between my supervisor career and this.”

As he considers his next steps, Yoder will hold an open house at the shop on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

During his years as a welder, Yoder has watched the price of materials such as steel climb dramatically.

“When I came here in 1984, I could buy steel for as little as 19 cents a pound. Today, that same steel could be $1.19 a pound.”

He remembers how difficult it was to quote a job during the COVID-19 pandemic, when prices seemed to change almost daily.

“You’d call for a price and it was good for the day as it would change every day. Then if you wanted to bid something, you didn’t know how to bid anything.”

Yoder said higher prices have made it harder to earn a profit. In recent years, pricing jobs and managing inventory have also become more difficult. He worries about getting stuck with expensive stock or being unable to recover the cost of equipment.

He has not decided whether to sell the property. Another possibility is tearing down the building and putting up something he could rent out.

“What I’d like to do, if I tear down the building, is see if I can arrange a situation where I can rent it out. I’ll be kind of like a landlord.”

Yoder later summed up the decision he is weighing: “Do I want to sell it, or do I want to tear the building down and put something up for rent? I haven’t decided yet.”

He recently received a ballpark estimate of the property’s value from a realtor, but he is not ready to disclose the figure or make a final decision. He does not yet have a timeline.

For now, Yoder is usually at the shop when he is not in Washington for his supervisor duties. Anyone interested in his tools can contact him, and if he is away from the shop, he can arrange to meet them there.

After a long career as a welder, Yoder is ready to look ahead and leave his years as a welder in the rearview mirror.