KILLEN, ALA.—His inventions, designs and entrepreneurship helped shape the modern vinyl tile industry with quality products and superb designs. His philanthropy earned him the respect of those who worked for him and the community in which he lived. On Oct. 4, at the age of 98, Edward Stanley Robbins Jr. passed away at his home here, leaving behind a legacy few will achieve.

Robbins was born in Flomaton, Ala. After high school he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he received his first practical training in the rubber manufacturing industry. In 1930, he returned to Alabama and settled in Tuscumbia. He purchased a manufacturing facility that had been closed for several years due to bankruptcy and developed it into Robbins Tire and Rubber, which at one time employed 1,200 people.

The plant was destroyed by fire in 1939, but through Robbins’ perseverance the facility was not only rebuilt, but reputedly was the most modern of its kind in the world. Because of shortages during World War II, he converted production from a natural crude rubber to a synthetic and would go on to supply tubes and retread rubber for the U.S. Armed Forces.

He is responsible for the research and development of synthetic rubber that is still used today to make inner tubes. Robbins Tire and Rubber is still in the family, owned by son Eddie.

In 1957, Robbins converted some cattle barns in Shoals Creek, Ala., into a vinyl flooring plant to start National Floor Products Co. (NAFCO) with 35 employees. He later purchased the first site in the Florence/Lauderdale Industrial Park and was a leader in developing it. At one time, NAFCO employed more than 500 people.

Here, he built one of the world’s most modern vinyl plants. Robbins designed the equipment that developed the first solid vinyl flooring. He was also the first manufacturer to make a pure vinyl floor.

Robbins held patents on numerous manufacturing processes that helped pave the way for the quality of construction of today’s products. Some of his innovations include precision-sizing of the tile, processing patents on wall base and the first vacuum-back waffle tile that needed no adhesive in order to be installed.

In addition to his technical innovations, Robbins was known throughout the industry as a genius when it came to style and design. From the beginning, NAFCO was known as a luxury vinyl tile and it was not just from the way the product was constructed. NAFCO was more than a leader in design; it was a fashion trendsetter.

In 1994, NAFCO was sold to Domco Industries, which eventually merged with Tarkett. Today, NAFCO is part of Tarkett and operates under its Tarkett Commercial division.

Robbins’ entrepreneurship and creativity would never rest, and in 1989, at the age of 82, he founded Robbins Industries. He again looked to the Florence/Lauderdale Industrial Park to build the company’s plant, which has numerous patents for special kitchenware designs. Today the company is run by his son Rodney.

A few years prior to this venture, Robbins built a unique house on the island at the mouth of Shoals Creek. It was designed with many of his innovations and engineering designs, such as the home’s heating system.

“He was just a good example of a truly honest businessman,” said son Harvey Robbins. “That’s the way he lived. He really taught business ethics and morals and, hopefully, I learned some of that from him. It wasn’t about money; it was about doing right.”

Doing the right thing was truly a part of Robbins’ character, who was known as much for his philanthropy as his highly successful business career. While many of these are a matter of public knowledge, there were a great deal more given anonymously.

His generosity and caring earned him the Muscle Shoals, Ala., Citizen of the Year honor, and the community’s YMCA bears his name as he not only served on its board, but was the facility’s primary benefactor.

“He’s done so much for so many,” said Bill Shoemaker, mayor of Tuscumbia. “He was such a bright guy and was a very good corporate citizen. The community really has lost an icon. Robbins helped more people in so many ways than you’d ever find out about.”

Steve Holt, president of Shoals’ chamber of commerce, noted, “Every community really needs a champion or two, and Robbins has surely been one of those champions. He will truly be missed.”

In addition to his gifts, Robbins was also an active member of the communities in which he lived and worked. He was a member and director of the Florence chamber of commerce and one of the original members of the Florence/Lauderdale Industrial Development Committee. He served on the board of directors of the Salvation Army. He helped organize and served on the board of directors of Sheffield Federal Savings and Loan Association as well as serving on the board of State National Bank, which became Compass Bank and First Federal Savings and Loan.

Robbins also served as a member and chairman of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board, Birmingham, Ala., branch. He served on the original board of directors of Riverhill School, the Quad-Cities Junior Achievement and was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America. He was one of the founders and served on the board of directors of Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club.

“Stanley Robbins was a community leader,” said Ed Mauldin, a local retired banker. “He was an outstanding business leader. He kept interest in the community— the entire Shoals community. He continued to do that for his entire life.”

Robbins was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Rose Wilson Robbins. He is survived by a sister, Maybeth Tompkins of Tuscumbia; sons, Edward and wife, Mary Lou of Florence; Harvey and wife, Joyce Ann of Muscle Shoals; John and wife, Ruby of Killen, and Rodney and wife, Trish of Florence; daughters, Martha Ruth Pillow and husband, George of Killen, and Katrina Robbins; 15 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren, and a number of nieces and nephews.

The family requests that memorials be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, P.O. Box M, Florence, Ala. 35631; the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 728, Florence, Ala. 35631 or the YMCA of the Shoals, 2121 Helton Drive, Florence, Ala. 35630.