In 1937, after he had earned his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, Bob and his father JH (Jim) Fletcher formed an engineering and consulting company in Chicago.

They worked extensively on new systems, in particular the development of offtrack supply haulage and mainline belt systems in the Midwest coalfields.

In the early years, Bob collaborated with industry legends Chief Aronson, Art Lee and John Boyd to transform underground safety and productivity.

In 1947, Bob and his brother Bill (1921-2008) moved to Huntington to expand their reach into the Appalachian coalfields.

With the advent of roof bolting in the post-war period, they purchased a garage apartment and began manufacturing the first mobile roof control drills in 1950.

Working closely with industry leaders such as Dave Zegeer, Adler Spotte, Buster Roberts and Woods Talman, the company earned a reputation for innovation and custom design flexibility by developing the first internal dust collection systems (1952), the first dual-head drills (1956) and the first machine-mounted ATRS temporary roof support systems (1969).

Over the course of his long career, Bob Fletcher’s innovations saved the lives of many miners.

Of the dozens of manufacturing companies spawned by mine mechanization in the mid-20th century, Fletcher is one of the few to survive and thrive as an independent entity.

Control of the company remains in the hands of the family, with son-in-law Sam Duncan (chief executive), son Jim Fletcher (vice chairman) and grandsons Rod (VP – production), Chris (assistant safety director) and Duncan active in the business. JH Fletcher said it looked forward to continuing the legacy of its founder.