The Company That Only Hires People Over 50
Most companies won't hire workers over 50. Vita Needle Company wouldn't hire anyone under 50.
Most companies won’t hire workers over 50. Vita Needle Company once flipped that logic on its head: it wouldn’t hire anyone under 50.
The Massachusetts manufacturer built a thriving business around older worker advantages, with an average employee age of 74. The approach attracted attention from PBS documentarians to German filmmakers, all asking the same question: how did this actually work?
The Accidental Discovery That Changed Everything
Fred Hartman didn’t set out to revolutionise hiring practices when he took over his family’s struggling needle business in the 1980s.
“At the time, all we could find were people who had been downsized, laid off, senior citizens—and we could only afford part-time help,” he explained. “So that’s who we hired. And then the epiphany came: this is a good arrangement for everybody.”
What started as necessity became official company policy after the late 1980s hiring spree proved highly successful.
Employing older workers became official company policy after a hiring spree of older workers in the late 1980s proved highly successful.
The 100-Year-Old Who Makes It All Make Sense
Perhaps the most famous employee was Rosa Finnegan, a former waitress who stamped logos on hypodermic needles well past her 100th birthday.
“I’d rather be here than almost anywhere,” she once said. “You feel like you’re still a worthwhile person, even though you’re old, not sitting in a rocking chair.”
When Rosa turned 100, Hartman marked the milestone with cake during the morning break, then let her keep right on working.
The Real Older Worker Advantages That Drive Success
The Quality Factor
“It has been a terrific business model for us,” he said. “We don’t need a quality-control department because these workers really care about what they are doing and want to do the job right the first time.”
Attention to detail is excellent, attention to quality, loyalty.
The Reliability Factor
Turnover was remarkably low. “We probably buried more people than had people leave in a given year,” Hartman admitted.
Even younger employees noticed. “They always show up for work,” said 29-year-old A.J. Coffey. “You don’t have to worry about someone calling in sick, like kids my age or younger.”
The Numbers Behind the Success
These older worker advantages aren’t just anecdotal, they’re measurable. In 2014, the median tenure of workers ages 55-64 in all industries was 10.4 years, more than three times the 3.0 years for workers ages 25-34 years.
With its new customer base, the company has grown to 35 employees, from 15 in 1984. Sales have doubled in the last five years, and are expected to grow 15 to 20 per cent this year.
The Business Structure
Nearly half the employees who produce, package, and ship orders at Vita Needle are over 65, with a median age of 73. At Vita Needle, there is no such thing as mandatory retirement; even the suggestion is scoffed at.
Almost all the older workers in Vita Needle’s nonunion work force are part-time, some working as little as 15 hours a week. Two-thirds of them are women; with the workers’ pay ranging from $6 to $12 an hour. The company promotes flex time, giving workers a lot of leeway in their choice of workdays and hours. Many employees have keys to the building, so some come in before daylight whilst others work into the evening; the last ones out shut off the lights.
Most of the older workers are covered by Medicare and draw income from Social Security. Hartman also gives out companywide bonuses at the end of the year, sometimes equal to a few months’ pay. But employees said the benefits of working at their age go beyond money.
The Company’s Evolution
Vita Needle was not a high-tech place. The company, founded during the Great Depression, was housed in an old theatre in Needham’s retail district. The main workroom was filled with long tables cluttered with boxes, machines, and needles of all sorts. There was no air conditioning, and in the summer temperatures could reach 90 degrees. Behind a coat rack, an old ticket booth served as a supply closet; the dance hall stage was used for storage.
The company had deep roots in hiring older workers. In 1934, Fred Hartman’s great-grandfather, Oscar E. Nutter, came out of retirement from the textile industry to start the business at age 68, and he ran it until three days before his death at 96. His nephew Carl Nutter also worked there until he was 88.
In the 1980s, the spread of AIDS caused a huge shift toward the use of disposable needles, making obsolete the reusable medical needles that had been Vita’s specialty. To reinvent itself, the firm found other uses for its products, developing tubes for embalming, tagging salmon, vaccinating wild animals, and injecting foam into car seats. One customer, Sea World, ordered 4-foot-long needles used to medicate killer whales. The workers hardly blushed when discussing the special needles for piercing navels, noses, tongues, and other body parts. “We’re kind of a player in that market,” Hartman admitted with slight embarrassment.
By adapting to new manufacturing procedures, the staff proved itself as versatile as the products. With its expanded customer base, the company grew to 35 employees, up from 15 in 1984, and sales doubled over a five-year period.
The Secret Sauce: Purpose Over Paycheques
What Vita Needle figured out is something most companies miss entirely: the key older worker advantages aren’t just about experience, but about motivation. Older workers aren’t just looking for money, they’re looking for meaning.
“It’s through the process of working, through knowing you’re doing something productive that’s contributing to a very successful business, that people feel like there’s still a reason for me to be here, be here in the world,” explains one observer.
The company’s workers describe their jobs differently than previous careers. They value the flexible hours, recognition for contributions, and having coworkers who depend on them. Work becomes less about climbing ladders and more about belonging to something valuable.
The Competitive Advantage Nobody Talks About
Whilst other manufacturers have fled overseas, Vita Needle has thrived by tapping into an underutilised domestic workforce. Their older employees bring decades of problem-solving experience, institutional knowledge, and a work ethic that can’t be replicated.
When the AIDS crisis made their reusable medical needles obsolete in the 1980s, this experienced workforce helped the company reinvent itself. They developed new products: tubes for embalming, needles for tagging salmon, equipment for vaccinating wild animals, and even specialised needles for body piercings. (As Hartman notes with slight embarrassment, “We’re kind of a player in that market.”)
The Hidden Cost Savings
Here’s where the business case gets really interesting. Most of Vita’s workers are covered by Medicare and receive Social Security, eliminating the need for expensive health insurance packages. They work flexible hours, some have keys to come in before dawn, others prefer evenings. Many work part-time by choice, not necessity.
But there’s an even bigger cost advantage among the many older worker advantages: retention. The median tenure of workers ages 55-64 is 10.4 years, more than three times the 3.0 years for workers ages 25-34 years, dramatically reducing recruitment and training costs.
The result? Lower benefits costs, reduced overhead, minimal turnover expenses, and a workforce that’s genuinely grateful to be there.
How Companies Are Discovering Older Worker Advantages
Vita Needle isn’t alone anymore. Smart companies across industries are discovering the older worker advantages that have been hiding in plain sight:
- Wegmans genuinely supports hiring older workers, including retirees seeking part-time roles.
- Home Depot clearly benefits from older staff through formal programmes and documented outcomes.
The Broader Context
OECD research shows that age-diverse firms experience lower turnover and higher productivity than benchmarks.
Those over 40 are three times more likely to create successful companies, thanks to their patient, collaborative nature and their lack of a “need to prove myself” attitude.
The Profitable Power of Older Workers
The manufacturing company has intentionally hired seniors – a decision that has increased profits and benefited older workers who often have a harder time finding a job.
“It’s through the process of working, through knowing you’re doing something productive that’s contributing to a very successful business, that people feel like there’s still a reason for me to be here in the world.”
Whilst most companies struggle with turnover, training costs, and quality control, Vita Needle has found a sustainable competitive advantage by embracing older worker advantages that others routinely overlook. The real question isn’t why Vita Needle hires older workers, but why more companies haven’t figured this out yet. In a world where everyone is chasing the next disruptive innovation, sometimes the most revolutionary idea is simply recognising the value of what’s already there.
As Rosa Finnegan demonstrated every morning at 5:30 a.m., these older worker advantages aren’t just theory, they’re a tangible asset. And the companies smart enough to recognise that aren’t just doing good; they’re doing incredibly well.
Sources
- PBS NewsHour – “Manufacturer Vita Needle Finds Investment in Older Workers Turns a Big Profit” by Paul Solman (February 22, 2018)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/investment-in-older-workers-turns-a-big-profit - The Boston Globe – “Needham firm finds success with older workers” by Katie Johnston (April 4, 2012)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/04/03/needham-firm-finds-success-with-older-workers/uy9yC2Br67TfwRCvljFilK/story.html - The New York Times – “At 74, She’s Embracing the Entrepreneurial Dream” (referenced via Vita Needle Company website)
https://www.vitaneedle.com/blog/vita-in-the-new-york-times - Vita Needle Company – “The Older Worker Advantages” (2006)
https://www.vitaneedle.com/blog/the-older-worker-advantage
