By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Prior to opening his own business, Clayton Noffsinger worked at Guthrie
Trailer Sales. Working in the business, Noffsinger knew a little bit about
tarps. Bob Gorman, owner of Gorman Tarps in Great Bend, educated Noffsinger
more on the tarp industry.
Gorman Tarps sold and left town, leaving open an opportunity for Noffsinger to
open a new tarp and upholstery business in 2004.
“It was tough the first couple of years,” said Noffsinger. “Fortunately, my
wife had a good job and was making good money. We were able to live off her income
while I started building this business. We finally got it up on its feet. It
took off and has done well ever since.”
Great Bend Tarp & Upholstery was born in 2004 on Southwest 2nd
Road, just west of the Patton Road and West Barton County Road intersection.
The family business handles tarps for boats, vehicles and trailers. The company’s
upholstery services cover furniture, headboards and vehicle interiors.
“I think what has made the business successful is being there when people
needed something done and treating people right,” said Noffsinger.
For nearly 20 years, Noffsinger said he has enjoyed putting tarps on grain
trailers the most, but a lot has changed since he first began his business.
“The technology involved in some of the electrical systems is just amazing,”
said Noffsinger. “The different things you can do is incredible.”
For the past couple of years, Noffsinger has considered selling the business
and scaling back his responsibilities. Looking for the right person to come
along to take over Great Bend Tarp & Upholstery, Nate Towns began working
for Noffsinger two years ago.
Towns, working in education, started helping Tarp & Upholstery on the
weekends and during breaks from teaching at school.
“I was put in contact with Clayton,” said Towns. “After talking to him about
his business and situation, it seemed like a good deal and a good route to go.”
The 2003 Great Bend High School graduate, Towns joked he never watched a sewing
machine run.
“My grandmother sewed when I was a little kid, but I didn’t know anything about
it,” said Towns. “The learning curve was pretty big because I never really saw
most of the equipment.”
After working with Noffsinger the past two years, Towns took over ownership of
GB Tarp Company on Jan. 3, 2023. Noffsinger isn’t
going into retirement mode yet as he plans to work part-time.
“I’m just selling out and working part-time,” said Noffsinger. “I’ve told
people I won’t retire until I die. I was really happy to find someone to do
this and keep the business going. Nathan is going to do well with it.”
For more on what GB Tarp Company can do, visit gbtarpcompany.com .
“I’ll still be picking Clayton’s brain a lot over things,” said Towns. “It’s
great to have him around and wanting to help out. I’m sure I’ll use him as a
resource plenty.”