Dale Phelon, 59, is CEO and president of R.E. Phelon Co., the small-engine parts manufacturer started by his father. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

``Former worker goes on rampage'' was the headline above the story on the shootings at a Navistar machinery plant in Illinois.

The story line was eerily similar to Mr. Wise's shooting spree at the local R.E. Phelon Co. small-engine parts factory in Aiken nearly four years ago: Both factories made engine components. Both shooters were disgruntled ex-employees who opened fire on co-workers they felt had wronged them.

Both gunmen shot and killed four people. The Navistar gunman committed suicide afterward.

A South Carolina court has decided Mr. Wise, now 46, will pay for the four murders he committed Sept. 15, 1997, with his life.

Mr. Phelon, 59, the president and chief executive officer of the company started by his father, Russell Eastman Phelon, said in the interview he did not want to talk too much about the tragic day. But the topic kept recurring.

In fact, the memory still affects much of his daily business routine. These days, even the smallest details of his environment, down to the positioning of the blinds in his office at the University Parkway plant, are consciously considered.

A plaque at R.E. Phelon Co. in memory of thoes killed at the plant in 1997. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

He used to keep the blinds wide open to enjoy the view. Now he worries someone could take a clear shot at him.

Other reminders around the plant include work stations that still bear bullet scars, a lovingly rendered sketch of the victims, and a plaque in the plant's courtyard that pays homage to the deceased.

Mr. Phelon does not look at the plaque very often because he becomes ``too emotional.'' He even debated whether the memorial should be placed elsewhere, perhaps off the grounds, because he said the plant needed to move on.

Inside Mr. Phelon's office are happier mementos. The lanky, casually dressed businessman speaks passionately about his competitive racing days as he shows off photos of a 1969 Boss 302 Ford and 1967 Camaro Z-28. On his desk is a chrome-plated lamp that a friend and former employee built from an assortment of spent engines parts.

``He made this thing secretly for me. It represents a failed part that at one time or another cost me (as a driver) a race,'' Mr. Phelon said.

On race days he has been known to sport shirts that read ``Phelon Good.'' He said his name actually is pronounced ``feelin','' contrary to the more popular Southern-styled ``fee-lawn.''

A self-described ``gear head,'' the plant owner channels his racing urges through Phelon Motorsports Inc., which also supports Rick Carelli in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series.

Engines and engine parts are something Mr. Phelon had his hands on as early as age 5. His father started the small-engine ignitions company out of the family's home in Springfield, Mass., in 1946. Since then, the R.E. Phelon Co. has become a worldwide supplier of parts for chainsaws, lawnmowers and other lawn equipment.

``It's fairly hard to buy a piece of gas-powered lawn equipment that doesn't have our ignition on it,'' Mr. Phelon said. ``You could do it, but we dominate the market.''

In addition to the core ignitions business, the Aiken plant and the two other Phelon facilities in Wisconsin and the Dominican Republic make flywheels and alternator components. A separate corporation, Power Parts Inc. in Puerto Rico, produces electronic assemblies and customized circuit devices. Carlin Combustion Technology Inc., a third corporation in Massachusetts, builds oil and gas burners.

Each corporation has a board of directors. Mr. Phelon bought the Massachusetts-based Carlin in 1992 after the company's parent filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

Mr. Phelon already had planned to move his R.E. Phelon Co. headquarters and plant operations that year from East Longmeadow, Mass., to Aiken.

Previous businesses he has owned have produced equipment for testing high-voltage consumer products, video game cartridges and satellite dishes. In fact, Mr. Phelon said he was the first to produce the large satellite dish systems that began appearing on lawns everywhere in the early 1980s.

The endeavor was ahead of its time, before most networks agreed to work with satellite providers.

``I lost a lot of money,'' Mr. Phelon admits.

He pulls few punches when it comes to conversation about business and personal matters. At one moment he can be casual and, in the next, intensely outspoken, particularly when he speaks on social issues.

He blames a number of societal ills on everything from the entertainment industry to single parenthood to too much government intrusion. His tone is not that of a bitter man, but more similar to that of a grass-roots politician who believes wrongs can be righted.

Mr. Phelon, for the most part, is happy with the course his businesses have taken. He lavishes praise on Aiken and its quality of life. He adores the slow pace of the town, where on any given weekend he may be found piloting one of his personal planes, or helping his son Russ build a Pinewood Derby car, or engaging in some other aspect of family life.

Even something as drastic as the 1997 tragedy couldn't change his opinion of Aiken.

``I love this area. I always have,'' he said.

Reach Eric Williamson at (706) 828-3904.