Several local companies and individuals will be recognized as the 2009 Entrepreneurial & Business Excellence (EBE) Hall of Fame honorees Nov. 12 at the Franciscan Theatre and Conference Center of Lourdes College in Sylvania.

The founding sponsor is Gorillas & Gazelles, LLC in partnership with the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. The event is presented by Launch and Rocket Ventures, a program of the Regional Growth Partnership.

Bob Armbruster

Bob Armbruster, president of Clean Team, Inc. in Toledo, became an entrepreneur at age 18 starting a business with an office in his parents’ basement and filling the garage with various cleaning supplies.

“I was so naïve and young, it just happened,” Armbruster said.

Clean Team is a family business, with Bob and his father as partners, his mother running the office and his sister doing in-house telemarketing.

Today, the company provides an array of janitorial services including general office cleaning, floor stripping and waxing, carpet and window cleaning along with supplies such as soap and paper towel dispensers.

Despite the economic downturn, business is still up 20 percent over the previous year and would have doubled if not for the recession, according to Armbruster.

“The most important thing in business is your employees,” he said about putting into practice the best business advice he has received.

“If we treat the folks that work for us correctly, then they will take care of our customers. If you treat your customers right, you should keep their business,” Armbruster said.

Kuhlman Corp.

Tim Goligoski and Ken Kuhlman are the only two remaining members of the Kuhlman family active in Kuhlman Corporation. Tim is a son-in-law and Ken represents the fourth generation of the family business established in 1901.

Kuhlman is best known for its ready mixed concrete but the company has expanded into new markets including decorative concrete and forming systems. The firm provides brick, sand, gravel and building materials for commercial and residential use, sewer and water lines, masonry specialties, sealing compounds and reinforcements.

“We are doing well if our customers are doing well,” Goligoski said. “Ken and I agree about the importance of customer service. For us to be successful, we have to make our customers successful by providing products and services.”

The company has 130 employees with an average length of employment being 20 years.

Goligoski said they cross train all employees to be knowledgeable about all the product lines.

“It all starts with selecting the right people, hiring for character first, training them well, and empowering them to perform,” he said. “It’s a relationship business and those relationships are critical for success.”

Fred Zoeller

Fred Zoeller is president and CEO of Laminate Technologies Inc. in Tiffin which will celebrate 25 years in business in May 2010.

Lam Tech, as it is known, is the largest privately held company in the continuous laminate industry in the nation with clients such as Sauder Woodworking, Masterbrand Cabinets, Merilatt Cabinets and Batesville Caskets, according to Zoeller. The company operates three manufacturing plants with plans to build a fourth operation.

The business has evolved into three segments with kitchen cabinets, furniture and distribution, each comprising one third. Zoeller expects to see a 30 to 50 percent increase in business over the next three to four years.

“You can’t remain stagnant in this business,” Zoeller said and he “owes everything [he does] and the success the firm has had to [his] people. We call them co-workers as we don’t use the word employee but consider them as family.”

He said that his people, and especially his wife who works there, help to keep him grounded since he is a visionary who looks at the grandiose picture.

Bob MacQueen

Bob MacQueen, president of MacQueen Orchards Inc. in Holland said he’s constantly thinking about how he can improve the orchards with new technology, equipment or other ways.

MacQueen Orchards is a family-owned business started by Bob’s parents, Hugh and Martha, with 10 acres in 1935. It’s now the fifth largest apple orchard in Ohio with 250 acres of apple trees and 20 acres of peach trees, according to Bob.

Bob MacQueen

“It’s a family business with all members working together. One grandson just started as the fourth generation,” he said.

It ships produce all over the U.S. with wholesale being 80 percent of their business and selling to local markets as the other 20 percent. The largest client is Wal-Mart but they also sell to The Andersons, Bassetts, Churchills, Kroger and Monnette’s Markets, Bob said.

“Apples are very plentiful this year. It’s the biggest apple crop in the orchard’s history,” he said.

The orchard is a year-round business, but the biggest time of the year is the Apple Butter Stir and Craft Festival held the first week in October drawing about 20,000 visitors.

“You have to experience MacQueen Orchards either through the eyes of a child, as a parent or as an adult of any age. It is a memory in the making,” he said.

Roger Curtis

Roger Curtis is president of Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., one of 22 race tracks around the country that host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Races.

Curtis was a nuclear engineering major when he started college at Purdue, moved to California to go into the music business and finally landed in motor sports where he has spent the past 17 years.

Curtis came to MIS in May 2006 after working at three other tracks in California, New York and Virginia. MIS is part of International Speedway Corporation, a publicly traded company that owns 12 race tracks, a catering company and the Motor Racing Network on radio.

MIS attracts about 350,000 people for the two big racing weekends in June and August. The record number of fans for a single race day is 157,000.

Curtis said their vision is “simply to create lasting memories for every person, every time. We create experiences for fans so they will want to come back each year.”

MIS has a fan advisory board and social interaction with fans at all events. The speedway has also invested $50 million to upgrade the facilities during the past three years.

“We never take our fans for granted. Many are making tough sacrifices to attend races here. We go the extra mile so people can say that it’s worth the trip,” Curtis said.

Radco Industries

Rick and Mary Anderson of Radco Industries in Toledo will be recognized as the Emerging Technology Company in the 2009 EBE program.

The couple purchased the engineering and machine building company when it was in receivership a few years ago. They dedicated themselves to building sales and reducing costs while retaining their most valuable assets — their employees, according to the profile provided to the EBE program.

The couple was on vacation and unavailable for comment at press time.

“They took a chance to save this business and develop a bread-making machine for their newest venture,” said Mike Brooks, an entrepreneur in residence with Rocket Ventures, who is working with the Andersons.

“Rick and Mary have effectively created their own incubator for developing unique new technologies within Radco. Their mission is to develop new technologies into spin-off businesses,” said Brooks.

One of their ventures is In Situ, Inc. established in 2006 to develop their ideas for a bread and bakery products business. They have developed a bread dough machine that can produce up to 70 loaves of artisan bread per hour with one operator, according to the EBE profile.

Brian Roth

Brian Roth, president of Trufast, LLC in Bryan, said that the people working there are responsible for the company’s success.

“We acknowledge employees and what they accomplish recognizing contributions with an incentive plan. We provide opportunities for our employees to succeed,” Roth said.

Trufast was started by the Spengler family in 1981. Roth sat on the company’s advisory board for 15 years before becoming involved in its management in 2002.

The company is a pioneer in making fasteners and screws for a variety of markets, including retail sales in 1,600 Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Business has increased by 333 percent during the past six years under Roth’s leadership.

“Building the right team and keeping them engaged is the key to our success,” Roth said. “We use a six discipline system to stay focused on executing the strategic plan for the company.”

Roth said Trufast has taken many cost-cutting measures and reduced production hours and its workforce during the current conditions. It still provides 10 percent of its pre-tax profits to its employees while maintaining its health insurance and 401K plans.

“We are concerned about being better every day and that is key to continuous improvement,” Roth said.

Tags: EBE, Gorillas and Gazelles

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Toledo Business Link.
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