Building on a Legacy: The Next Era of Mazzella Companies

Intro

– [Adam Mazzella] You know, my grandfather put the foundation in, and there was nothing about my dad that said, “Hey, I’m just going to, you know, let this thing cruise and make this a lifestyle business.” You know, he talks how we’re competitive. He wanted to win. He wanted to beat us at golf two weeks ago. First time in a long time.

So-

– [Tony Mazzella] Hurts, doesn’t it?

– [Matt Mazzella] I think I was a teenager.

– [Adam] It’s not just the money side of it. It is, you know, how can we accentuate these core values even to another level, even to another level? And ultimately for us to be successful, that’s what we have to do. It can’t just be here. It needs to be something that’s scalable. It needs to be something that we take everywhere.

– [Announcer] For your own safety, you are reminded to stand behind the yellow line.

– [Ben Hengst] Welcome to “Safety Factor.” We’re continuing our discussion with Mazzella company history, as we celebrate the 70th year in business. Today, talking to Matt and Adam, presidents as well as CEO of Mazzella Companies, Tony Mazzella on some recent history, as well as the outlook. Gentlemen, thank you for joining.

– [Tony] Thank you for having us.

– [Matt] Thank you.

– [Adam] Appreciate it.

Lessons from Grandpa: Rigging and Wire Rope

– [Hengst] Last episode, we talked about some of Tony’s earliest memories of his dad. So I’m wondering what were some of your memories that you have of your grandfather, coming up in the business. Before you started, what were some early memories?

– [Adam] Coming in on Saturday mornings, doing the mail with Grandpa, him, whether here or at the house, showing you how to tie a knot and like, just kind of not knowing even what the business was, but him kind of going, like, “Here’s how this goes together,” and, you know, showing you how to splice wire rope, braid wire rope, how to do various knots, in their basement. You know, just kind of cool stuff like that.

You know, I guess the, didn’t really look at it as this back then, but like definitively like proud that he was able to create something like, you know, seeing what he had left for his son, and seeing what he had done with it even to that point, I mean, I think is something I look back and say like, man, he lived the American dream, you know what I mean? So.

– [Matt] Oh yeah, no so, it’s funny when you bring it up. I always think about the change in his pocket when he was walking by and anywhere, you’d hear the change always. And now you got the key man over here, who rings his keys and everybody knows he’s coming. So-

– [Tony] You guys got to figure out your, what you’re going to do.

– [Matt] Yeah, he has no idea what any of those keys are for, by the way.

– [Tony] Yeah.

– [Matt] It’s great, but there’s probably, what, 150 on that key chain?

– [Tony] No, not that many. Keeps me in shape.

– [Matt] Oh yeah.

– [Hengst] Keys to all the rooms, just in case.

– [Tony] Yes, yes.

– [Adam] Everywhere! All the locations.

– [Tony] Yeah.

– [Matt] So, but yeah, that was always a great memory of my grandfather. You know, as Adam said, he taught you everything always. And you know, one of the base lessons that I always find that that’s there is never be afraid, try it. And, you know, I’m still to this day, try it, learn, figure it out, and just continue going forward. So, you know, everyone jokes around about how I just try random things and do it, and it turns out great. So, it’s fun. So I think we definitely get that from his side, and ’cause I remember making tables out of reels and setting everything up down at Apple Valley and just doing it all himself and having fun and teaching us and moving forward, so.

Growing Up in the Family Business

– [Hengst] So what are some of your core memories that you have? And Tony, feel free to jump in to give a little context to this, but some of the core memories of, you have of the business, before you joined, or before you officially joined, I guess.

– [Matt] Yes.

– [Adam] I don’t have memories from before they put me to work here.

– [Matt] Kind of, you really were in that boat, to be honest. It was always, it was always fun. We made it fun working, growing up, making little assemblies, making, you know, just rope assemblies, all that stuff, and so forever. But really, the part that always stuck with me, and I’ve talked about this before, was, you know, you always heard about their friends and you know, our friends do this. And as I got into the business, as I got older, their friends were really the customers and people that they served and worked and cared about. So I think that’s something that my dad’s carried on and I think that’s something that is close to my heart as we continue to go forward with our customers.

– [Tony] Yeah.

– [Hengst] Were there any milestones that you remember, for the company before you started?

– [Adam] His 40th birthday.

– [Matt] Maybe not before I started.

– [Adam] Yeah, his 40th birthday. I mean, I still remember that-

– [Matt] Oh yeah.

– [Adam] Like vividly. We had a surprise birthday party for him. You know, we had these-

– [Matt] Kevin brought the entertainment.

– [Adam] Yeah, so everybody got a shirt. We, you know, the boys, my brothers and I got my dad his 40s shirt. I think-

– [Matt] Do you still have yours?

– [Adam] I don’t, but-

– [Matt] I have mine.

– [Adam] Actually left it-

– [Tony] Does it fit?

– [Adam] I left it at one of my buddies’ houses-

– [Matt] It’s a skinny shirt day.

– [Adam] 25 years ago, and he works for the business now, and I’m pretty sure he has the shirt, so, yeah.

– [Matt] Yeah, no, that was a great memory. You know, the old shrimp boils, you know.

Entering New Markets: Crane Manufacturing

But I would say like the real turning point when I realized that, you know, the business was growing and everything like that, was when we actually moved into Aerospace [Parkway]. You know, it was, the cranes were going up. We were starting to build cranes at that point. You know, we were always a wire rope shop, chain shop before that. We move in here. We put up a seven-and-a-half-ton crane, and that was an interesting story too. But we were, I think it was Adam and I, were helping install the lights here, and hooking ’em up and all that, and we had the lift up in the air, and running around-

– [Adam] Racks.

– [Matt] Putting up the racks and, but I mean, really when we moved in here, it was, the company really started in my mind to take a different form, and go into a different direction, so-

– [Tony] Yeah, as every time we’ve like expanded and moved, it wasn’t like we had all the business to fill up the space. I mean, we moved from what was the equivalent of, you know, probably a little less than 50,000 square feet to where we moved here, and, you know, it was a little bit under 100 originally. And, you know, we had to find ways to make it pay off, just like we did when we moved in ’82 to Brook Park. And so that was always the next challenge. And actually the month before we moved in here is when we really got in the crane business. We bought Crane Builders in December, and we moved in here in January. And that kind of propelled us. We had to, you know, it was a big commitment.

– [Hengst] So, what influenced the decision or what led you to the decision to buy a crane business and move into the overhead crane manufacturing industry?

– [Tony] Well, like a year, well, so in like 1995 we had this guy named Pete Ward that worked for us. And he joined, and he joined to start our service business. And, when you’re in the service business, sometimes you get crane opportunities and probably in like 1997, ’98, somewhere in there, we built our first stick cranes, and we built them for NASA, which was, you know, a lot of requirements in that. And so we just built a few before we got here, but we knew that was a direction we wanted to go.

And just so happened, some people’s relationships had got us access to Crane Builders, and they wanted to sell, and we took advantage of it. And so it’s kind of like, we talk about the BHAGs once in a while. It’s kind of like, going into a new building, you got to find ways to make it pay, and I think that kind of takes the lid off and you start thinking of things that you may have not have thought about before. So that, that was probably the big leap.

Expansion Beyond Cleveland: New Locations and Industries

– [Hengst] Yeah, so Matt, you kind of answered this already, but Adam, maybe you can add some more. What made you realize that this company was moving from not just a small wire rope rigging shop, chain shop anymore, into, you know, what it’s grown to today?

– [Adam] Probably when I was in, you know, high school, college, you know, started doing little pet projects, you know, do asset tracking and things like that. So really what that entailed was, here’s a list of assets. You know, go compare that against what’s actually there and identify things like that, what’s actually not there. And it started being, go to Canton, go to Cincinnati, go to Detroit, go to Pittsburgh and you’re going, you know, didn’t really have a concept of, at the time, Mazzella Wire Rope & Sling Company outside of Cleveland, Ohio. I mean, this is where we grew up, and really had no obligation to go really anywhere else. I mean, I’d been to Cincinnati maybe once or twice when my Uncle Jim was there, went to Canton once or twice, ’cause we had family nearby there, and really started having to go around and you know, it provided some beer money in… college, and, you know, being able to continue to do this stuff, like driving on the weekend, going and identifying everything and kind of reporting back and having work to do in between, and getting a idea of the scale is kind of where I started to pick up on, wow, this thing’s big and growing and robust.

Growing Up in the Shop: Pranks and Childhood Memories

– [Matt] Yeah, I’ve started to find out, figure out it was a little bit bigger when you’d actually start to get in trouble for playing pranks and stuff like that. I mean, I remember growing up and being in the shop and messing with the guys and they would come right back at you. My favorite one was when my brother Andy got lifted up on one of the hoists and sent down the entire track, ’cause he was sitting there shooting paperclips through a fan at the guys.

– [Adam] That’s about right.

– [Matt] Rick Baldridge picked him up and sent him flying. It was great. So you can’t do that anymore, and, but it was funny back then. So, but yeah, I mean, just as we continued to grow and get bigger, we added more teammates and you know, just, everyone still has fun but in different ways, so.

Learning the Business: Early Jobs and Growth

– [Hengst] So how have your roles changed? Walk us through kind of your life in Mazzella. Where did you start, and what are the different roles that you’ve played within the company, to arrive as presidents where you are now?

– [Adam] So, working summers. I still remember the worst summer of my life. I think I was 12 or 13 years old. And Rick Baldridge, another, you know, Rick reference, which it’s probably not going to be the last. Just, you know, he’s grinding on you. “Oh,” you know, “You can’t do this? Oh, you’re wimpy.” And meanwhile he’s having you swage, you know, 12 years old. I’m swaging like inch and three quarter eye and eye wire rope slings, like, you don’t know any better. You know, and he comes up to you after, he goes, “Yeah, normally we have a second guy help you put it into the swager.” And you’re goin’, “Okay.” You know, so kind of going back to, you know, sort of keeping it light in pranks, but, you know, working in the rigging shop growing up, and kind of on again, off again as you kind of go through summers.

Worked in crane service, again, talking about people messing with you. They go, “Hey, welcome to crane service. We need to make sure this runway’s in plumb.” Never had done anything like this in my life. You’re 30 foot in the air with a manlift and they drop you off with a double lanyard and they say, “You need to scoot your ass all the way the down this, you know, 200-foot runway, holding a tape measure, while we’re on the other side with the manlift.” And I did it. And they get done and your butt’s sore from straddling a runway. You’re, you know, the butterflies still are there ’cause you’re 30 feet in the air, going snap, snap, unhooking and sliding. Yeah, so there was that.

There’s a lot of stuff that probably can’t talk about that was fun and interesting and new, but-

– [Matt] At least they gave you a harness.

– [Adam] Right? So post-college, came back, and was doing project management stuff. There was a need in the wire rope department. So became temporary department lead there, in the rigging department here in Cleveland.

Went through a Lean Six Sigma program. Again, kind of continuing with the theme of lifelong learning. I was operations. I knew nothing other than that. And I think about a year or two into it, you know, my dad had me take a aptitude test that said, “You should be in sales.”

From Wire Rope to Metal Roofing

So, all the while running projects, Lean projects, I did some projects for this company called Sheffield Metals, and struck up a relationship with Mike Blake. And all the while I’m thinking, “I got to get in sales, got to get in sales.” And the opportunity came up because Sheffield was expanding, again, you know, expanding somewhere, going with the theme of, you got to fill it up. And so, just looked at it as an opportunity. And so, moved to Denver, jumped from the lifting business, not knowing, “Is this going to work out? Is this going to be a one-year gig and am I going to run back, or am I going to go to Colorado and go be a ski bum?” You know, that was probably my biggest ambition at life-

– [Tony] And my biggest worry.

– [Adam] At that point in time. And, you know, life happened around me. I think I was out there maybe six or eight weeks and found out I was going to be a dad, and, you know, probably went through my biggest individual growth phase, like, legit 24, 25. You’re just trying to form your front brain and a lot of major life things happening, and you grow up, you have kids, you kind of have to grow up, right?

So, went from inside sales to outside sales to general manager, just growing, building relationships, and to VP of sales over Sheffield to, you know, working through the New Tech deal, and landing New Tech.

So New Tech was a vendor of ours for four or five years before we bought ’em. We had a great relationship with them. So things like that, and then moving back here in 2016, VP of sales at Sheffield, did that, became vice president, I don’t know, a few years later, and then just kind of keep growing, keep growing, sort of like need-based, where you run at it, wear your 10 different hats, and figure it out. You know, it’s seldom going to be pretty, but you figure it out.

Building Skills Inside and Outside Mazzella

– [Hengst] Matt, how about you?

– [Matt] What was the question again, no.

– [Hengst] Where’d you start-

– [Matt] No, I’m kidding.

– [Hengst] And then how’d you grow?

– [Matt] No, I started coming in with my grandpa on weekends and, you know, learned to make slings, summers, just all through grade school, high school. And then started full-time in 2001, after the crane business came over, and wanted to learn that.

So I started as a laborer on the floor and learned to weld really quick, and ’cause that’s how I got a raise, was get a new job. And I think I got an extra five cents an hour and just kept going and learning more and more. And within a couple years, was building cranes, and then headed out on the crane service side.

So similar to Adam, you just jumped in and did what you did. And people, we had a lot of great teachers along the way. I mean it’s tough to name ’em all, but I mean it’s one of those, you know, we have so many great people in the company who grabbed Adam, myself and others, and brought ’em up in the industry, and taught them so much.

As far as growing through the company, working on cranes for quite a few years. Went to crane service and then Inside Sales. Spent, what, two-and-a-half, three years in Inside Sales with Al and that whole team. That was a lot of fun back then because we were rapidly changing. It seemed that the business atmosphere was changing back then too. Companies were growing and being bought, and it was a lot of fun.

So, went through that, and then had the opportunity to go work for Bridon on one of their programs that at the time FKI was running. So had a lot of fun over there. Worked similar to Adam in the Lean side. Worked with-

– [Tony] And one of the unique things was, the opportunity was actually in the UK, so it worked out good ’cause they, you know, our competitors probably didn’t want a Mazzella working at Bridon in the local, in the U.S.

– [Hengst] Uh-huh.

– [Tony] So that was an interesting thing.

– [Matt] It was very interesting, ’cause it really was, the opportunity was over there. So I got to spend a lot of time in the factories over there, learning how to manufacture wire rope, all the processes that go into it. You know, you start to see that it’s really a machine and how much care is taken on every single step to make one piece of wire rope.

And so I got to go through the whole process because they had the wire mill, they had a ropery, and they actually had fabrication facilities also. So, got to see a lot of the differences because I knew how to fabricate wire rope growing up, and to see the differences that they take versus us, and it’s a very interesting thing, ’cause there are subtle differences in each piece, but got to spend a lot of time over there.

And then couldn’t get a visa to Germany. And it was just one of those things, last minute, tried to work in their factory in Germany and had the opportunity to come back and work in Tulsa at Crosby, at McKissick. So got to learn all the processes on that side, and also work in their lab.

You know, that’s, it really reinforced my love for metallurgy and understanding different materials and hooks and why you do things differently, and really, how different pieces and parts interact with one another. So, the team down there was absolutely amazing. Took me in, taught me everything. Showed me a lot of the different processes in forging, casting, testing of materials. And so it really just continued to let me grow and look at it differently.

So, after Crosby, I was there for a year, and had the opportunity to come back and work in sales. So, came back in 2008, and that sucked.

Navigating Challenges: Lessons in Leadership and Resilience

That was a very interesting time because you go out, work your butt off, think you’re making some progress, and then people would disappear, job sites would close. And coming back to the business, my dad spent a lot of time in the steel mill side, and you know, I wanted to make my own mark to a certain extent. And so I started to pursue the construction side, and, you know, really struggled for the first year on the construction side because a lot of projects were getting canceled and not moving forward.

And so I started to gravitate towards equipment, and gravitated towards cranes, crane ropes. And we developed a fun crane rope group that still exists today. And it’s a very prominent thing we’re proud of. And you know, we work with the equipment owners and show that side. So, you know, it was the development of that. And so, but yeah, ran through it and then got into Engineered Products. Actually ran Cincinnati first.

– [Tony] Cincinnati.

– [Matt] Moved down to Cincinnati in sales, ’cause there, we needed some help down there on the sales side. And so, ended up spending a lot of time in Cincinnati, but also traveling quite a bit to the wind farms in Oklahoma, Texas, and Indiana, and just trying to learn equipment and that stuff. So, it translated to running Cincinnati, and took over that branch, worked as a service manager for a little while, branch manager, and continued on.

And when the opportunity came up to take over the crane side, I moved back home and took over our crane manufacturing sales, and that side. And that was a lot of fun, learning from a lot of really good people, and continued that, and took over Below-the-Hook, and then really the engineered product side, and continued on the engineered product side up until recently about a year-and-a-half ago, took over as president.

– [Hengst] And Tony, how’s it been for you, to watch Matt and Adam start from making slings as children to, you know, growing through all these different spaces within the company?

– [Tony] Well it’s awesome and you know, really a dream come true. I mean, as any parent, you’re proud to see your kids do great, but to have a business like this that can continue because of their commitment and their love for the same thing I cared about, you know, it’s big.

From Rigging to Roofing: Moving into Metals

– [Hengst] So Adam, you talked about how you got into the metals side, but what made you want to go down that route and learn more about the metals side of the business, and, you know, get involved with that?

– [Adam] I think a little bit of it, I think a few things. A little bit was going out on my own and kind of making my own path. You know, there’s, it’s not easy working in the business when, ultimately, your dad is the superstar of the business. And it’s not to take anything away from it, but, you know, there was a lot of challenges growing up there, and ultimately trying to find your own way, and, you know, it’s not that I was like, “Oh, I got to go get into this metals business.”

You know, there was a while there in college where I was like, “Hey, being an architect would be really cool.” So design, construction, aesthetics, you know, was always appealing to me, still is. And when I looked at what it would take to flip my major and get there, I said, “Nope, finance looks great.” I still do like finance, and finished that avenue.

But it was always something of appeal. And whenever I’d ask about Sheffield, it was like, “Oh, you know, they do like gas station covers. They’ve got these like mega customers that are doing these monster military bases.” And as you get into it, you know, how the market and the business has changed and how metal roofing, standing seam metal roofing-

– [Tony] It’s growing like crazy.

– [Adam] Is like, actually very acceptable, where before it was almost taboo to think of it as like a residential solution. So, so just being a part of that, you know, and, I’ll put it this way. Matt said, you know, tons of mentors along the way. That’s sort of been it. I mean I joke around. I was like, you know, I don’t have an original idea, but I love seeing what other people are doing, digging in and figuring it out, and really, making it ours, and taking a team approach to it. You know, a lot of the mentors I’ve had were probably some of the toughest people that I had around me, but like going back for more, because seeing that they had something that they’re ready to give you. So, you know, I could name a bunch of names, whether it be Jim Mitchell, Mike Blake, Roger Gehr, I mean, a lot of people that you go back and you go, “I couldn’t have done it without them.” But at the same token, you know, this goes for me or anybody in the business, taking that and pursuing it, taking that and identifying it as an opportunity, you know, that’s part of that lifelong learning path as well.

It’s not just book smart, but it’s opportunity smart. And, you know, I’ve had a lot of opportunities and I’m just, you know, really blessed. I haven’t gone out, you know, I didn’t leave the lifting business and say, “I’m going to go out and do this, that or the other.” It was just a real wonderful opportunity presented itself, struck a chord, I love Colorado, get a level of independence, go kind of to do my own thing to some degree, and had some really great mentors along the way, including my dad, so.

– [Hengst] How was the decision made to go… So people might not know, Mazzella, you know, they know us as a lifting company. They might not know that Mazzella Companies is also a metals company. How was the decision made to get into the metals business, to buy Sheffield Metals, to buy New Tech Machinery?

– [Tony] Well, certainly it was an opportunistic thing. I knew the guy from my CEO group, and he wanted to get out of the business. But I think it really goes back to all those seeds my dad planted in all of us, and that. And he would, my dad would say, “Hey, maybe this business doesn’t even exist in 10 years or 15 years, and you got to always be looking for things, new opportunities and that,” so I think that probably those were the seeds that when this came up, it was like a crazy opportunity.

And it only came up because Bill was in my CEO group and he had gone through a tough time, and, you know, came to the group and said he wanted to sell the business. And the group basically said to him, “You’re crazy. You’ve gone through your tough time. Why would you do that?” And they said, “Why don’t you hire a president?” And at the break of the meeting, I came to him and I said, “I got the perfect guy to be your president and run your business.” And it was Mike Blake. I was friends with Mike. I knew his background in steel, and that, and he didn’t, he almost ignored me. And then about two weeks later, he gave me a call and says, “Hey, come to lunch and tell me about your guy.” And when I got there, I said, “Let’s go to lunch.” He said, “No, come in my office.”

He goes, “I really don’t want this business.” He says, “How ‘about you buy it, and bring your guy on to run it?” And you know, through my connections, particularly with Greg Skoda at the time, I had developed a relationship with him the last previous two years to that. And Greg was a deal guy, and you know, I went to Greg and said, “How do we get this done? But I do not want to risk Mazzella.” And it was Greg that was able to help put the package together that got us a independent bank, everything, so that we could not risk Mazzella, at the time. And was very fortunate, very blessed that it all worked out so well.

The Impact of Grit and Family Values

– [Hengst] So what are some of the characteristics that you admire in Matt, you admire in Adam, that, you know, the light bulb kind of went off in your head that said, “These guys can be the presidents of these companies.”

– [Tony] You know, they’re both very different in how they look at things and approach things. So in some ways you got to separate ’em. But I thought about that a little bit, and probably the thing, the word I’d use is they both have the grit to get it done.

And as I thought about it, ’cause you gave us the softball and tossed that question out a few days ago, a little bit, but that is a commonality of both of them. And when I think about people in the industry that had, was in my position and had family involved, neither of these guys are going to sit on the sidelines and just not be noticed, you know what I mean?

They, and you know, one of the things that it registered to me related to this question, one of the, I’ll say, proud moments is when we moved into a new school district, you know, they went through the school, and both of these guys were in football and that, and my other two sons. And when they graduated, when Adam finally graduated and left, about a year later, I got a letter.

– [Matt] Finally.

– [Adam] It was the best six years of his life, but- I get this letter from one of the teachers, who really wasn’t any one of their direct coaches, and it was a real nice letter, and I still have it in my desk. And basically it said, “Hey, your family, your boys, changed the level of how people looked at competing, and it changed the school, the district, everything.” And he said, “A lot of people don’t know it, don’t notice it, but I do, and I want to thank you for that.” And that kind of, it was that grit that I think has always been in our family, and it, those are the, I’ll say, the common things, and I also look at it as, hey, when I joined the company, we were, it was like, I was, not like, I was the 13th employee. This is a whole different game they’ve joined, and you know, I’ll say, sort of got thrown into.

And you know, you certainly were, you all, everybody has to have some fear as they do it, but you also got to have some cojones to say, “I’m going to conquer this. I’m going to learn what I need to learn,” and make, as they both said, make their own way. And I think that’s the overall thing that’s made a huge difference. And that’s the difference between being able to go to that next generation, is, you know, they had the care and the, I’ll just say, the experience that my dad imparted on them and the importance of that, and the pride and that. So that all came with it, but they also had the grit that said, “Hey, this,” it’s not easy. There’s nothing easy about running the business, there’s nothing easy about growing the business, and there’s absolutely nothing easy about being family in the business. And all that being said-

– [Matt] It’s okay, Dad.

– [Tony] All that being said, you know, we’re in a good spot.

Defining Moments in Leadership Growth

– [Hengst] Are there any milestones or highlights from their career that kind of stick out in your mind?

– [Tony] Yeah, I’d say, you know, I’ll start with Matt. I think, you know, his gravitation to the technical side, I mean, he’s got, anybody that knows Matt, he’s got this crazy engineering mind, and that, that-

– [Adam] And emphasis on crazy?

– [Matt] I was going to say, you got away with calling me crazy, appreciate it.

– [Tony] Crazy engineering mind that, you know, only certain people have. I mean, you can go to engineering school and that, but he’s got this crazy mind to understanding how everything goes together and how it doesn’t work well and how when it does work well and all that, and it’s something I can’t, and I have some mechanical aptitude, but that’s a whole different world that sometimes I look at and go, where the hell’s that from? But I had a grandpa-

– [Matt] Sometimes.

– [Tony] I had, my grandpa was that way. He was a great inventor and mind like that.

So that’s a piece, I think, you know, what he has gravitated to when he talks about the going to Bridon, going to Crosby, and that, so that’s some of the things that are important. And as we’ve set, put ourselves, you know, and I think of Adam, some of the milestones there, you know, his willingness to go to Denver. I mean, you know, we were close family and I think the idea of going to Denver and kind of, as he said, making his own way. and then probably a bigger challenge was when I said, “Hey, I need you back here.” I think that was a big, big, big, big challenge. I mean, it wasn’t like, “Hey, yeah, I’m running back.” He, it was, it took a lot of energy and thought, and I’d say he probably didn’t even like it, at the time, but it was somewhat of a sacrifice, certainly a piece of it was a sacrifice to come back in Cleveland, but that’s what the business needed, and that’s where the next step was.

So those are things. I think the other thing that I’d say that just, just fits to, the one great thing is that all three of us have great support system with our wives. And I think that is a real key to a success, and to be able to play at the level we play with. You know, they may not be in the business, but they are part of the business because they allow us to do what we need to do, which isn’t just everyday stuff. It really isn’t.

Carrying the Legacy: Passing Down Core Values in Business

– [Hengst] Yeah, so I asked Tony this during the last podcast and I’m wondering if you guys have your own opinion. So how do you see your grandfather’s footprint on this business 70 years later? And then also how do you see your dad’s footprint on this business, from his lifetime of running it?

– [Matt] So I think my grandfather’s footprint is really how we treat each other. You know, that to me is what carries through and really I think is the baseline of how we’re successful is, you know, having people who are lifelong learners, who are humble, hungry and smart. You know, that’s really the baseline of what he has brought.

My dad has emphasized that. But also, you know, you look at what my dad’s done with it is started to bring the lifting business together, not just, you know, wire rope shops or crane service or crane manufacturing. You see all those start to come together, and it’s how all the pieces fit that are, that’s the success and the excitement, and then also bringing in the metal side and having the foresight to really keep ’em apart, and let them grow independently and charge forward.

So I mean, the excitement behind what we’re doing and putting both of us in place, it’s fun. It’s a challenge, and you know, he brought up how competitive. You know, we’re extremely competitive, and you know that, and it’s fun. I mean, to me, it’s a lot of fun doing what we do, and-

– [Tony] Did they tell you I beat ’em both in golf a couple weeks ago?

– [Matt] He’ll never forget it.

– [Adam] Like six years, you didn’t beat me though, right?

You know, I sort of look at it like a springboard. I mean, you know, there’s the fundamental things that my grandfather brought to the business that, you know, are core values. You know, while he may not have said, “Hey, it’s humble, hungry, smart, lifelong learning.” For I think my dad to identify these things, to me, like the thing that comes to mind is like, it’s like a springboard. So, you know, my grandfather put the foundation in, and there was nothing about my dad that said, “Hey, I’m just going to, you know, let this thing cruise and make this a lifestyle business.” You know, he talks how we’re competitive. He wanted to win. He wanted to beat us at golf two weeks ago.

– [Matt] First time in a long time.

– [Adam] So-

– [Tony] Hurts, doesn’t it?

– [Matt] I think I was a teenager.

– [Adam] So the, I look at it as something that can springboard you, you know. If you have a million dollar business, how big can you go, and pursue it, then how great of a business can you make it?

And it’s not just the money side of it. It is, you know, how can we accentuate these core values, even to another level, even to another level. And ultimately for us to be successful, that’s what we have to do. It can’t just be here. It needs to be something that’s scalable. It needs to be something that we take everywhere.

And, you know, ultimately, seeing the work ethic. I don’t know that I ever really, my grandfather’s work ethic, I don’t know that I ever really got to see that other than, you know, the man lived and breathed wire rope, and this industry. And I think, you know, seeing my dad, with seeing his work ethic firsthand and understanding that kind of whatever it takes, wherever you got to go for whatever it takes, I think those are some of the things that, you know, allow us to understand these things that we need to do to go solve that problem or this problem, or distill these core values everywhere, so-

Mazzella’s Vision for Future Growth and Innovation

– [Hengst] So what’s the future look like? What are some of the biggest opportunities on the lifting side of the business? What are some of the biggest opportunities on the metals side of the business?

– [Matt] So the biggest opportunities on the metals side are.

– [Adam] Please, tell me. Many a crystal balls have been shattered on this question, so.

– [Matt] Yeah, you know, I think it’s continuing to embrace and march down the path. I mean, we’ve been consistently growing and consistently, you know, adding teammates, and a lot of great people are around, and we’re excited to continue to grow, and support the industry, and move forward.

So, you know, very excited for where we’re headed. A lot of the branches are starting to work together and bring the business together, and that’s what’s fun about it, is seeing how all the teammates are interacting and how the different pieces and parts work together.

– [Tony] Yeah, I think that we have something that I don’t think anybody else has, the opportunity we have to pull it off. And we will, they will. So.

– [Adam] Yeah, I mean ultimately, the vision is to kind of continue to build a nationwide network and see how far beyond you can from the coil supply side. There’s other things that I think tuck in nicely, other industries that tuck in nicely that we can service from there, and trying to parlay these opportunities between the machinery side of the business and the supply side of the business.

So, we’re confident that there’s other industries, other opportunities out there that, you know, kind of, you have the stapler being the machine and the staples being the supply side. So, we’ve got a lot of things in mind, a lot of things that we’re trying to develop. And it’s really about not getting too far out of your skis.

You know, I think just learning opportunity the last three years, being over at New Tech, you know, stepped into that with a laundry list 20 pages long of “We’re going to do this and I want to do that, and want to do this,” and you get into the business and you go, “Wow, the business needs this, and the business needs that.” And being able to identify these things that the business needs ahead of your wants and fixing those things, and then finally over the last year, being able to start getting into, “Okay, hey, we want to do this, and this is who we want to portray ourselves as.”

So, that’s exciting. You know, that’s like the game of business, and kind of figuring out how you can make that dynamic work, and taking the lessons you learn at Sheffield and New Tech, and you know, the lifting business, and taking that elsewhere, so-

– [Tony] I think that, even on the metals side, just that uniqueness of, you know, being the metal supplier, but also having the premier roll forming equipment and what else can we do with either and both of those, either together and apart, and there’s opportunities because of that uniqueness of being together, that we’re, I think Adam’s identified a lot and we’re going to run at those.

– [Hengst] Thank you guys for joining. I appreciate it. If you’re looking to learn more about lifting and rigging or if you’re looking to learn more about metal roofing, you can check out our Learning Centers at mazzellacompanies.com, sheffieldmetals.com, as well as newtechmachinery.com. We have tons of articles, videos, podcasts, tons of stuff for you to learn from.

You can find “Safety Factor” wherever you listen to your podcasts, or you can watch it on the “Lifting & Rigging Channel” on YouTube. Thanks for listening. Stay safe out there.