Jon P. Wiesman began his management career in the horse business overseeing elite racehorse breeding operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Kentucky. In 1990, he and his wife Leeanna decided to move back to Pennsylvania from Kentucky, each without jobs to begin building their own horse breeding operation; we were gifted 63 acres from her parents, becoming the seed from which, all grew.
In 1996, Jon began the development of the Equine Express II and he reached out to Dickson Varner, DVM at Texas A&M University for his expertise; Jon had worked with Dr. Varner at the world renown Castleton Farm in Lexington 17 years previously when he was fresh out of high school in 1979.
Together, they developed a semen & embryo transport system that changed an entire mindset of equine reproduction world-wide. In the fall of 1997 Exodus Breeders Corporation began operating from a storage building on the property, that grew into a multi-million dollar a year business.
For the last 25 years Exodus has led the way to aggressive reproductive management; the goal was to help all breeders large or small, guide their way to reproductive success and Leeanna has exclusively run Exodus Breeders Corporation since 2012 – www.exodusbreeders.com.
At the 1999 fall TAMU Veterinary Conference, Dickson Varner, DVM suggested that I acquire HR Lubricating Jelly and put it back on the market; Carter-Wallace had recently been sold, the product was to be mothballed and the only sperm-friendly lubricant was set to be lost forever.
Dr. Varner said “find it and get it back on the market, it will change the stars for your children and grandchildren.” Eight (8) years later in April of 2007 that opportunity finally presented itself and soon after HR Pharmaceuticals was born – www.hrpharma.com.
The name HR was chosen to honor Holland & Rantos, the company that developed HR Lubricating Jelly, but moreso a company that changed an industry by producing premium quality products that benefited all, the human medical, surgical and OTC consumable markets world-wide and livestock reproduction.
In August of 2015, we acquired Surgilube, the #1 surgical lubricant in the world thus giving HR the two legacy surgical & vaginal lubricants that dated back to 1931. In early 2018, we introduced EcoVue® Gel, the most revolutionary ultrasound gel ever to enter the market in over a generation and in 2020, we entered into the urological market with a line of catheters.
This opportunity brought total standardization to the HR portfolio with a premium quality medical & surgical lubricant, “ecofriendly” ultrasound gel that would maximize the efficiencies in today’s demanding medical supply chain world; a one stop shop for an entire SKU portfolio.
In the fall of 2019 Jon realized that it was time to let his sons Colby and Christopher run the family business; both had more than paid their dues and it was his time to begin stepping back, to go back to his roots to run Wiesman Farms, a standardbred breeding program dedicated to quality livestock.
But his story wasn’t over, as a part-time retirement, in October of 2019 Jon began another venture, WiesConcepts and is dedicating himself to visions that over the last 45 years been derived from his God given ability to have the foresight to change or improve on something will ultimately benefit mankind.