Staying True to Your Roots
Ohio entrepreneur builds a big business by focusing on the little things
Imagine your garage for a moment. What do you see in your mind’s eye? Besides your car, you might envision some dusty boxes filled with Christmas decorations, or a treadmill that hasn’t been used since The Great Hamstring Incident of 2014. It’s not likely that you see potential for a multimillion-dollar business. But you’re not Ashley Miller.
Miller started Quality Welding & Fabrication, LLC in Elida, Ohio in 2009. As a boy, he worked with his dad in their garage, learning about welding and machinery. For several years, Ashley and his brother worked side by side in this same garage, up to 16 hours a day, sometimes six or seven days a week, to get their business up and running.
Today, the company specializes in creating, installing and repairing machinery and products for commercial and industrial clients throughout western Ohio. Other capabilities include CNC machining and plasma cutting, millwright services, portable welding and more.
Being a Good Community Partner
In the early days, Miller served neighboring farmers and other local companies. However, the company’s reputation has since grown, along with its business. While the company used to bid on projects up to $200,000, these days projects are often five times that price tag. For instance, the team is currently fabricating 400 tons of steel for a hospital in nearby Coldwater, Ohio.
However, they always remember where they came from because their customers make a huge impact on their daily lives.
“One of our neighbors wanted us to fix her shepherd’s hook,” says Jared Springer, Operations Manager for Quality Welding & Fabrication. “She could have easily bought a new one, so we were very grateful to have the opportunity to take care of it for her. Our customers know they’re helping us [with things such as getting] our kids’ braces and [taking] care of our car payments.”
The company started small but has grown exponentially—especially recently.
“When I started five years ago, there were four employees,” he says. “Half of our company joined in the last two and a half years and one quarter of our company’s staff began working here in 2017 alone.”
Understandably, growing so much so quickly presents its own set of challenges. Instilling a desire to go above and beyond for every client is a key part of the company culture. “With so much growth, it can be hard to keep the culture we’ve worked so hard to build. However, our culture matters a lot, so it does get a lot of our focus,” Springer says. “Hands down, Ashley is the best manager I’ve ever worked with.”
“Whatever I need to do to make sure my team succeeds, I’ll do it,” says Miller, the company’s President. “I’m happy to roll up my sleeves and teach our guys how to get the job done. If they need something from me or from the company, I want them to know they can count on that investment to help them do their jobs better.”
That level of dedication isn’t just a 9-5 promise.
“We’ve done a lot of work for a nearby soybean refinery,” Miller recalls. “One afternoon around 5 p.m., we were getting ready to go home for the day. Well, an issue popped up with the refinery and we ended up staying up there and working until about 2 a.m.”
And the company doesn’t take holidays either.
“We really pride ourselves on the level of customer service that we provide,” Springer remarks. “I live an hour and a half from our office and one of our clients got into a real pickle on Christmas Day, so I drove three hours roundtrip to help the client with it. We’ve learned this level of customer service from Ashley through osmosis.”
Technology is a “Game Changer”
In addition to its chivalrous commitment to offer personable, round-the-clock service to clients, the staff at Quality Welding & Fabrication, LLC also works to stay ahead of its time by investing in technology upgrades. Company leadership has effected major renovations and advancements—including investments in new equipment to make the team’s work even more precise.
“We transitioned from paper plans to iPads and that has been a real game changer,” Miller explains. “Not only are we saving an incredible amount on printing paper, but the iPads help in two distinct ways. Every update or revision to machinery or plans is automatically sent everywhere simultaneously, and our guys can zoom in on the screen to better see dimensions and other small details. Our work is much more efficient.”
“Technology is the future and we want to be ready for it,” Miller states. “That is what I feel sets us apart from our competitors and what I hope people will remember about us.”
Within the last year, Quality Welding & Fabrication has expanded its offerings to include in-house engineering services—the latest in a long line of investments to improve the business’ capabilities. This additional resource helps the team serve customers even more efficiently.
Investing in people is also key to Quality Welding & Fabrication’s success. For instance, a college intern was recently brought on board. This initiative has been so successful that company leaders plan to continue training interns as a way to build a well-trained and loyal workforce.
“We have a staff of 43 right now,” Springer explains. “Fourteen of our guys travel full time to do a variety of things. They focus on design-build work, which is a huge asset for our company. These guys do everything, from erecting the steel they have built to installing handrails.”
One team member at Quality Welding & Fabrication spends all his time creating plans and drawings. The company bought new design software and went a step further to pay for him to receive further education on how best to use it.
But he’s not the only one with specialized training.
“All our guys are certified through the American Welding Society,” Springer says. “That’s huge for us. That’s mandated here at Quality, and we have a lot of guys who have multiple certifications.”
This practice builds a stronger company internally by validating the staff’s knowledge base to others, and enabling the team to take even better care of clients.
Looking to the Future
As his company’s customer base has grown over the last decade, Miller understandably thinks about what’s next for his business. It is his hope that one day the company will expand into an even larger facility.
So the next time you haul your garbage cans back into the garage, or toss your work gloves on top of your tools, remember that in the middle of western Ohio, the livelihoods of more than 40 families benefit from the work that started not even a decade ago in one man’s garage.