Born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1923, Daniel Andrew Eisenhauer has always felt a strong connection to Nova Scotia’s South Shore and its people. He stayed close to home as a boy until he left for Halifax to obtain his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University and the Technical University of Nova Scotia. Shortly after his graduation in 1945, he began his professional career in London, Ontario designing mechanical stokers for a London foundry.

In 1946, Andrew returned to Lunenburg where he bought and overhauled used marine engines, and then sold them throughout the Atlantic Provinces. In 1947 he co-founded the Atlantic Bridge Company of Lunenburg, and later the ABCO Group of Companies, with his brother and some friends. There, he would focus on ship maintenance, the construction of wharves and breakwaters, and mechanical contracting on US Air Force bases in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the early 1950s, Eisenhauer led the company into the design and fabrication of aluminum fish-processing equipment, a move that would greatly benefit the Atlantic Canadian fresh fish-processing industry. Eisenhauer’s leadership, vision and dedication to his community brought the company to be one of the largest South Shore employers.

By the late 1970’s, the ABCO group of companies had grown to include: ABCO Manufacturing Division, ABCO Industrial Equipment Division, ABCO Plastics Division, Atlantic Shipbuilding Division, ABCO Acadia Division, ABCO Newfoundland Division and Industrial Machinery Company Limited, which included the Construction Equipment Division and ABCO Properties.

Despite the challenges brought on by an economic slowdown and high interest rates in the early 1980s, Eisenhauer was able to preserve his empire by reorganizing the ABCO companies. In 1984, Eisenhauer’s son, Jim, became principal operator of the Lunenburg operations, while he continued to run ABCO Plastics Limited in Mahone Bay until his retirement in 1988.

Over the years, Eisenhauer has lent his engineering and leadership skills to many provincial and national organizations. His memberships have included: The National Research Council and its Executive Committee, Board of Applied Microelectronics Institute, Board of Atlantic Institute of Biotechnology, Advisory Board of Dalhousie Business School, Board of Maritime Life Assurance Company, Board of Maritime Tel and Tel Company, as well as the Dalhousie University Board of Governors.

He was founding Chair of the Advanced Materials Engineering Centre, and has Chaired the Board of Governors of the Technical University of Nova Scotia, the Capital Campaign of the Atlantic School of Theology and the Canadian Manufacturers Association (NS and Maritime Divisions, and was member of the National Executive Committee).

Eisenhauer has been a strong supporter of sustaining and developing his community with more than his business endeavors, including being active in Boy Scout and Girl Guide Associations at local and national levels. He has been a Member of the Lunenburg Town Council; Member and Chair of the Lunenburg School Board; Founding Member and President of the Lunenburg Junior Chamber of Commerce; and President of the Lunenburg Board of Trade, to name a few. In the late 1980s, he chaired a campaign to build a new library at the Atlantic School of Theology and was a member of the national fundraising committee for the Anglican Church of Canada. He was also Co-chair of the recently completed restoration of St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg, which was destroyed by fire in 2001.

His relentless dedication and accomplishments haven’t gone unnoticed. He has been honoured with a Doctor of Divinity by the Atlantic School of Theology; recognized as a Life Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia; and is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering. In 1998, he was awarded the R.W. Angus Medal from the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering to honour his outstanding contributions to the management and practice of mechanical engineering in Canada.

Eisenhauer is retired Chairman of the Board of ABCO Group Limited, and lives in Second Peninsula with his wife, Josephine. They enjoy golf, sailing curling and travel, as well as following the pursuits of their five children and 14 grandchildren.

Rob Dexter is the second laureate to be inducted into this year’s Junior Achievement Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame at a dinner being held Thursday, June 1, 2006 at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax.