Ultra Aluminum Manufacturing, Inc.

A workshop in a converted one-car garage … a resolve in the face of doubters … a generous and supportive benefactor … two hours of sleep each night while working the day job and the dream job … a belief that engineering and customization concepts could become a profitable reality.

Those are some of the steps taken and achieved by Russ Springborn as he shepherded his company from concept to industry leader. Ultra Aluminum Manufacturing, Inc. (Ultra), based in Howell, Mich., is a go-to company that manufactures and distributes ornamental aluminum fencing, gates and railing systems to contractors and landscapers around the country.

Fences and gates have existed for centuries. What has allowed Ultra to become one of the nation’s leading companies in this market? It’s the ability to be cutting-edge with what most consider a common product.

“We adapt and develop,” says Springborn, President and CEO of Ultra, who had just managed a shipment headed to Hawaii when he was interviewed for this article. “Whatever the project, we can take a concept and design the product. We’re quick to engineer and produce from the ground up. We do standard fences and gates but we’ve expanded our capabilities to where we’re doing about 50 percent custom-made jobs.”

In 1996, at the age of 29, Springborn left a job on the Chrysler assembly line. Instead of remaining a small cog in a big automobile wheel, he had goals to make his own path. When he left, he told a supervisor his business plans and said he’d see him at an upcoming tradeshow.

The response was a skeptical, “Good luck with that.”

Springborn didn’t need luck; but he did need some help. Working out of his house, his plan was to manufacture high-quality aluminum fencing. He used his available funds to purchase equipment, but to make his ideas reality, he needed raw materials. Springborn went to a nearby mill seeking an investment.

“I told them my plans and that I expected to have great growth,” Springborn says of his pitch in the board room. “The only person who wanted to work with me was the owner. He believed in me and he leased me a truckload of metal.”

Marshall Noecker, the owner of the mill company, has since passed away and the business now belongs to his son. But Marshall made sure that the relationship with Ultra would continue; now, about 7 million pounds of aluminum are delivered to Ultra on an annual basis.

A Clever Trick to? Jump-Start Business

That first batch of aluminum was used to construct a sample fence. Springborn trucked that sample around the Detroit area, taking promotional photos in front of houses and buildings.

From that 6-yard section of fence used as a promotional tool, a thriving company has evolved. Now, Ultra produces an estimated 2.7-million feet of fencing, railing and gates a year.

The business made $1 million in its first year and that increased to $3 million—and 35 employees—by year three. And while the business continues to grow and thrive, Springborn is still very hands-on with overseeing projects.

“I tell people in the company that if you need to get in touch with me about something urgent, you need to come find me out on the production floor,” he says. “If you send an email, I’ll eventually get to it. I understand [email] is how everyone communicates, but I just don’t spend much time in the office.”

Springborn, who engineers all of the company’s products, still puts in 12-hour days, arriving at 5:30 a.m. However, his detailed involvement with Ultra’s products is not micromanaging. He’s more concerned with troubleshooting, keeping an eye on production practices and finding ways to improve how things get done.

“The employees, the guys on the floor, look at Russ, the boss, as one of them,” says Ben Jodoin, Ultra’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “A number of the firm’s 130 employees have been with Russ from day one. There’s a lot of loyalty and pride that permeates throughout the company. There’s a lot of communication between sales and production; the sales guys spend time on the floor. They understand what’s going on with the projects they’re involved in. We all speak the same language.”

Springborn also takes pride in the fact his company’s products are “over-engineered” and contain 20 percent more aluminum than many competitors’ products. This means the fences and gates will probably outlive the customer, notes Springborn.

Turning Customers’ Concepts into Reality

Mills Fence Co., Inc., based in Cincinnati and serving customers in Ohio and Kentucky since 1970, has had a strong relationship with Ultra for the last decade.

“We’ve dealt with many, many vendors but we love Ultra,” says Mills Fence Vice President John Lyttle. “Their customer service is awesome, they sell good, quality products. A lot of companies try to sell you the cheapest products they can find, but with Ultra there’s considerable bang for your buck.”

He adds: “Ultra is really good with specialty or custom- made orders. A lot of companies don’t want to do that but Ultra delivers what the customers want. Ultra has told us, ‘If a customer can draw it, we can make it.’”

A prime example of that was the gate for a soccer complex. A rough sketch showed the outlines of male and female players depicted as if they were kicking a soccer ball. Ultra’s sales force took the concept to their designers. They developed a more detailed sketch that was the spot-on reality of the customer’s sketch.

“Collaboration is key from the time the customer meets with a sales person to production to the finished product,” Jodoin says, and adds, “One part of the production aspect that we’re always concerned with is code. We have to adhere to certain rules and regulations.” Despite this contingency, Jodoin says the team is able to deliver products that closely align with the customer’s expectations. “An architect once told us that our finished product was the closest thing to her design concept she’d ever encountered,” he shares in illustration.

Jodoin states further, “Fencing is something that has been around forever and it sounds like a simple product. But people who tour our facilities are always surprised with what goes into the manufacturing.”

After 10 years in business, Ultra had grown to achieve almost $20 million in sales. After another decade and despite a recession that heavily impacted the industry, the company now has three different locations. Springborn projects that this year’s revenue will exceed $32 million.

The success has not bred selfishness. Springborn and his wife Monique have donated to help the homeless in Detroit and the company has given fencing and gates to a local church/school as well as a veteran’s memorial. A particular source of pride has been their involvement in multiple fence installations at Arlington National Cemetery.

“As a company, we’re just dedicated to whatever it takes to get the job done right and to produce top-quality products for our customers,” says Springborn. “We keep evolving in terms of our product line. A lot of the new product lines have contributed to our growth.”