MANAGING CHANGE THROUGH MODERNIZATION
Braden & McSweeny’s Transformation Pays Off
From Pittsburgh to Calcutta, entrepreneurs around the world are on the search for new ways to ensure the longevity of their businesses. Some rely on incremental changes: trying out a new marketing strategy, hiring an advisor, or cutting down on costs. But for husband-and-wife team Terry and Maria Steiner, respectively Vice President and President of Braden & McSweeny Inc., the answer is far more expansive. After taking ownership of the company in 2010, they took a daring leap, modernizing nearly every aspect of what was then a 46-year-old business. Now, the transformational changes they set into motion are really paying off.
Braden & McSweeny is a Commercial Division 10 company founded in 1964. For more than half a century the company has sold, installed and serviced industrial and commercial bathroom accessories for both public and private sector clients across western Pennsylvania. In 1984, Jim Braden sold the company to Maria’s father, Vince. When Vince retired in 2010, Maria decided to leave her full-time career as a physical therapist to buy the business and run it with Terry.
“I grew up watching my father work hard every day,” says Maria. “He would install during the day and come home and run Braden & McSweeny in the evening, so I knew what a dedicated person he was.”
Maria decided to apply this same level of dedication to her vision for the company. She obtained a women-owned small business certification for the business. Also, she and Terry implemented a range of new project management and administrative tools aimed at drastically reducing mistakes and improving efficiency in the office, on job sites and in the company’s warehouse.
A Thriving Region
Once known as the steel capital of America, Pittsburgh and the surrounding area suffered a severe post-industrial depression as the steel industry began to implode along with the deindustrialization of the U.S. Between 1970 and 1990, the Pittsburgh region lost 133,000 manufacturing jobs, and 30 percent of the population left the city to find work elsewhere.
Now known as both a major technology hub and as a hotspot for medical research, western Pennsylvania is making headlines as perhaps the next Silicon Valley of the east. This business paradigm shift—from the steel industry to technology and medicine—is in large part due to the growing presence of Carnegie-Mellon University, the leading academic institution in the field of robotics, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which ranked last year as #12 on U.S. News & World Report’s annual honor roll listing America’s best hospitals.
Uber, the ridesharing app, just relocated its technology and development headquarters to Pittsburgh. It joins tech giants Google, Intel and Apple as part of a fleet of global businesses providing exciting employment opportunities in the region—giving local graduates a reason to stay in Pittsburgh, and driving young talent back to the city.
Local manufacturers estimate that commercial construction spending is going to double in western Pennsylvania in the next three years, says Terry. Already, the region’s economic boom has allowed Braden & McSweeny to take on many high-profile contracts with some of the area’s largest players, including Uber and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as many other hospitals in the area.
Adapting to Market Changes
Maria and Terry understand that their ability to win high-profile jobs is partly due to the company’s decades-long reputation as a reliable consultant. But they also know that for business to continue to thrive, they have to respond to changes taking place in the market.
Over the years, these changes have involved introducing new technologies that enable staff to work quicker and make decisions faster. Added efficiency frees the team to take on more work, and increased capacity translates to increased sales. In just seven short years, the couple has managed to double the company’s revenue.
Braden & McSweeny is now one of the largest Division 10 distributors in the region and has done business with nearly every major local contractor. Its warehouse holds the biggest inventory of toilet partitions and washroom accessories in the area. Three years ago, the company expanded into the Ohio market, opening an office in Cleveland and hiring a new director to manage it.
A Methodical Approach to Client Service
Since assuming ownership, Maria and Terry have placed additional emphasis on excellent client service, which for them always involves delivering a job on time and on budget. An installation mistake can easily prevent the building from getting an occupancy permit or hinder the tenant’s ability to move in on time, so the company’s products typically get installed the week before a building is turned over to the client or inspected for occupancy.
Project managers work diligently to keep the contractor team on schedule. Automated checks and balances have been implemented for every detail of an installation, which means that the team will not proceed to the next step until the project manager is confident the last step has been double-checked. This example is one of several operational and managerial strategies that have proven very effective.
“I can remember 10 years ago, on every other job we’d find this huge error and have to scramble to fix it,” says Terry, who once worked as a project manager for his father-in-law. “We’ve really made an effort to minimize mistakes.”
Pulling Together
Maria was completely new to the industry when she took over the business. With only a year of full-time mentorship from her father to guide her, she began running all of the internal operations while Terry oversaw the project management team and contractors. Despite the steep learning curve, the couple was intent on drawing inspiration from the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit that was driving the local economy.
“We were trying to run the business accurately and successfully while trying out all these new things. It was hard work trying to hold it all together,” recalls Maria.
The challenge was made easier with the support of a loyal and dedicated staff. Braden & McSweeny’s trusted team includes four project managers, a warehouse manager and four installers, all have stayed with the company for years—through the transition of ownership, and through all recent changes. This includes Project Manager Warren Marweg, who has worked for the company for over a decade, and Project Manager Bodie Mischuk, who has been with Braden & McSweeny for over a quarter century. The staff is like one big family—both figuratively and literally.
Terry’s mother Nancy, who has been Office Manager for nearly 30 years, takes care of everything from invoices and project document administration to certified payrolls and acquiring the proper insurance certifications for each project. “She’s like the captain of the ship,” says Maria.
Shortly after acquiring the business, Terry’s brother Paul left a successful career as a union carpenter to come on board as an Estimator and “jack of all trades,” strengthening client relations and dealing with issues on site.
The dedication and loyalty that hold this business together are perhaps most apparent in Terry and Maria’s relationship. The couple met and became friends as children in grade school and finally married in 2001. Partners in life and in their careers, the strength of their relationship allows them to tackle their roles as entrepreneurs with confidence.
“Making all of those changes was rocky at first,” adds Maria, “but the past six years have been a great adventure.”