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Up For the Challenge: The Realities of Running a Family-Owned Business

By Jennifer Dallos on on September 30, 2019

How two small, family-owned job shops overcome global and personal business trials BY Josh Leath, product manager, welding, Yaskawa America Inc., Waukegan, Ill. Reprinted with permission: The Welding Journal Intrinsic to the American business landscape, small, family-owned fabrication shops are experiencing more challenges than ever. On a grand scale, turbulent global economies and ever-changing regulations are dictating the current state of the manufacturing sector, creating a greater demand for high-quality customized products to be made within the United States. This has forced supply chains to be more agile than ever, prompting manufacturers of all sizes in diverse industries to invest in technologies such as additive manufacturing, analytics, artificial intelligence, and robotics to withstand market pressures and achieve tangible outcomes to stay competitive (Ref. 1). The worldwide skills shortage has also contributed to the daunting task of recruiting skilled, hard-working talent to the mix. At the same time, these outside influences are compounded by more personal struggles. From fiscal stressors to complex family relationships, a delicate balance between personal life and professionalism must be reached. For small, family-owned job shops TnL Welding LLC and Six 5 Design, these challenges and more are met head-on every day, showcasing the hard work and tenacity it takes to keep the doors open and maintain success. Pushing for Something Better For Todd Whitt, the desire to push for something better has always driven his personal and professional success. Whitt is the owner of TnL Welding, a fabricating operation in Sidney, Ohio, specializing in the robotic welding of aluminum and stainless steel parts. In the late 1990s, while working as a line welder, Whitt experienced first-hand how a lack of training can paralyze production when the upper management at the job shop where he was working failed to provide employees with the knowledge needed to properly operate several welding robots that had been installed. At the same time, Whitt happened to be taking a robotics course at a nearby technical college. “It was a wake-up call,” he said, “and once I saw how capable and repeatable robots could be, I realized I could do this.” Combining his talent of welding, vast knowledge of part design, and new ability to operate a robotic welding cell, he eventually took a job as a robot technician for a large aluminum fabricator. While this position provided him with a steady job, the fabricator had trouble keeping up with orders. Overloaded with welding and fabrication work, and having already bought his first used robot for personal use, Whitt made the decision to branch out part-time with his own business. Shortly thereafter, he dedicated himself full time to TnL . With more than 37 years of welding expertise, 27 years of fixture design knowledge, and 18 years of robot programming and preventive maintenance experience, Whitt is still motivated for success at TnL Welding. He runs the shop alongside his daughter and company vice president, Kristen, who is versed with AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) training. The father/daughter duo work together to overcome their biggest challenges, which are listed below. Inconsistent Market Much of the work TnL acquires comes from larger companies needing help with overflow. When these local manufacturers experience downturns, so does TnL. While the company maintains a focus on automotive, agriculture, gas pipe (manual welded), and rack and conveyor systems for warehouses to help deal with unexpected slowdowns, TnL turns away very few jobs. Whitt adds to his company’s production arsenal when he can with equipment such as robots, fixtures, and computer numerical control machines, which provide the consistency needed for efficient high-quality production. The company recently added a second robot to one of its pre-engineered ArcWorld® welding workcells for a total of four robot arms in-house. More robot arms help to improve cycle time for large-quantity production runs on medium- to large-sized parts up to 1600 lb and 9.5 ft long, setting them apart from many smaller job shops — Fig. 1.

TnL Welding LLC uses robotic welding machines to improve cycle time and part quality for large-quantity product runs.

Tight Budgets While essential to completing a task with the utmost efficiency, accuracy, and safety, items such as fixtures are not typically part of the overall budget for a small, family-owned shop. Bigger companies looking for help with overflow often shop on price. If the job requires special fixturing not already in place at a fabrication shop, this can raise the question of how fast can I order the fixture, what’s the cost, and for what return? For shops looking to bid jobs competitively, weighing the pros and cons to each job is a necessity. Fixed budgets can get even tighter when markets slow down. When this happens, “You can hire in at lower starting wages,” said Whitt, making it hard to keep workers looking for a steady paycheck. The use of robotic automation for TnL has provided a consistent and affordable workforce, maintaining high-quality production. Hiring Workers When it comes to hiring workers, the biggest piece of advice Whitt has for job shop owners is to simply find the right person for the job because the human element is still very much needed to run a successful small business today. “People need to be willing to wear multiple hats and work extra hours, but that’s difficult to find,” stated Whitt. Furthermore, when it comes to the specific use of robotic automation, he explained that “People really don’t know robots. You can normally find an operator, someone willing to push a button, but that person usually isn’t skilled enough to program a robot.” This has provided an ongoing challenge in a tight labor market, persuading Whitt to pay higher wages to keep good talent when needed. Maintaining Skills In a competitive landscape, learning new skills and keeping up with technology is imperative, but this can prove difficult for busy job shops with limited staff. According to Whitt, “New equipment generations make it hard to keep up with the learning curve.” However, staying up to date with technology is something that he and his daughter work hard to maintain. He strongly advocates purchasing user-friendly robots and machines from companies with good support services. Family Dynamics For TnL, trying to keep business and family separate is perhaps the greatest challenge of all. “It’s a totally different ball game,” declared Whitt. “You have to treat everyone equally and not show favoritism. If there is an issue on the shop floor, you correct employees, even if you’re related. And, sometimes, it’s hard not to take the feedback personally.” For this reason, it is important to keep sight of the company’s mission, setting personal issues aside and finding common ground when necessary to achieve success. On the contrary, when away from the production floor, “shop talk” should be kept to a minimum between family members. Future Uncertainty For many small, family-owned job shops, transitioning from one generation to the next can be difficult, so planning is pivotal. While retirement is not part of Whitt’s immediate plans, he is still looking ahead by preparing his daughter for the company’s future. “My dad has put me through the wringer, helping me as an individual and prepping me mentally and physically for the future of TnL,” stated Kristen. “From bigger customers to more equipment and space, we have high hopes for expanding.” Mixing Passion with Reality For Jake Balsiger, owner of Six 5 Design, a cutting-edge design and fabrication shop in Jefferson, Ohio, mixing passion with reality has always meant finding balance. An avid motocross racer at age 15, Balsiger’s appreciation for high-end automobile components started early. He soon discovered that he too could learn how to create elaborately welded parts for use in the real world. At 16, he graduated high school to work in a race shop before eventually taking college courses to earn his mechanical engineering degree. He started his own business in 2010. For the first five years, Six 5 Design operated out of Balsiger’s garage, where he bought tools as he could afford them. Never borrowing money, every penny he earned was put back into the business, which at times created stress and uncertainty about the future. Passionate about his business, however, he persevered. Initially, the company’s focus was on designing and hand-building premium racing components such as chassis and fuel systems for ATVs, snowmobiles, bikes, trucks, and custom cars. “If it went fast, we were welding parts for it,” said Balsiger. But, balancing the budget was difficult with strictly low-volume specialty parts. It was during this time that Miller Electric Mfg. Co. recruited him to assist customers with advanced processes in the industrial welding and fabrication realm. This provided him with a steady income and helped him to once again find balance. At this stage of his career, however, Balsiger was too invested in his own business to completely walk away, and he made the decision to keep Six 5 Design’s doors open on the side. Over the last four years, Balsiger’s job shop has transitioned from making custom components to offering high-end welding services for a broad range of parts, thanks to the implementation of robotic automation. With a total of seven high-performance Yaskawa welding robots equipped with Miller® welding power supplies, he has been able to accommodate high-mix, low-volume production runs, going from one completed part (or less) per day to more than 200. While successful, he too experiences his own set of challenges, as detailed below. Market Fluctuations Similar to TnL, Six 5 Design’s business can fluctuate with the market. With the ability to produce very consistent parts for low-volume runs via a unique combination of robots, tooling, and power sources, original equipment manufacturers contact Balsiger for assistance with overflow. To mitigate potential downturns, he picks up subcontractor work when he can, and continues to create custom components for the racing industry — Figs. 2 and 3. Work Overload “One of my first main challenges was that I was so hungry,” remembered Balsiger. “I would take every job that came my way.” To help, he bought equipment as he could afford it, eventually finding balance in his workload. The company’s growth has allowed him to train and hire part-time workers to operate the robots as well. Profitable Parts Despite Balsiger’s enjoyment of watching someone use his specialty pieces during a race, he eventually had to look at the bigger financial picture. “I had to weigh what parts would be profitable. Racing parts can be difficult and time consuming to make,” he concluded. Therefore, finding a consistent part mix that turns a profit is key to moving business forward. Hiring Dilemma When asked about hiring and training workers, Balsiger was candid, “I am mostly a one-man show, and teaching someone is time consuming.” Despite this, he knows that the future of manufacturing depends on talent, so he offers apprenticeships to individuals showing a strong desire to learn, using these workers for peripheral work when needed. Interestingly, the use of robotic automation has eased the learning curve for workers in some regards, speeding up the training process. Buying Equipment Starting out, Balsiger did not have all the equipment needed, and he relied on solid relationships with reputable vendors for cutting and forming parts. “I don’t buy equipment until it’s painful,” he admitted. “When I don’t see any other way but to buy a new piece of equipment, that’s when I make a purchase.” While he has built up his equipment collection over time, and now does more bending and forming in-house, he still uses the two primary vendors he started with nine years ago for laser cutting and other forming tasks. Limited Space Having started his company out of his garage, Balsiger has always been conscious of floor space. “I’m less of a risk taker. I don’t expand until it hurts,” he said. Over time, he has moved to several offsite rental facilities, utilizing eight different layouts to maximize floorspace and optimize production. Rising to the Challenge For Todd and Kristen Whitt of TnL Welding and Jake Balsiger of Six 5 Design, maintaining a small, family-owned fabrication shop entails being passionate about the business and working hard to overcome the challenges most job shops face. While these two business owners bring different backgrounds and methods to the table, they share the following commonality: Robotic welding automation has brought a unique consistency and quality to their operations, opening up the scope of work to bigger customers. This, combined with their vast welding experience and deep industry knowledge, continues to make each company stand out from the rest. Reference

Deloitte LLP. 2018. Assembling a Strong Future: Industrials Outlook 2018.

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