Specialty steel manufacturing and investing in both staff and family are what make Ironmen Industries stand out in their field. Over the years, the company has worked towards building long lasting relationships with other companies through quality control, communication, good drawings, and clear planning.
“It’s not a light thing for us if we have projects that don’t go well, or where the customer is not satisfied,” CEO David Krahn shares.
With a main focus of “Custom Metal Solutions” for manufacturing companies, Ironmen Industries creates high volume steel machine parts, sub-assemblies, and weldments. While the company boasts excellence in communication, quality, and pricing, what really sets them above the rest is the culture.
“We have a team of people here that are selfless. They’re high on character, and they’re not happy unless the customer is happy. They’re the kind of people that take pride in the job, making it their own. I guess you could say we have a team of leaders here.”
Ironmen Industries opened in 2011 when Krahn, his brother Johnny, and his father John decided to take the leap. While working on a side job doing renovations and maintenance for apartments, the three discovered how well they worked together, and considered becoming business partners. This idea remained dormant for over a year, as the family meditated on their choices, and prayed for guidance.
“We got a call from someone who knew my dad,” Krahn says. “They said they had a really large project, and they can’t find anybody to do it- would we do it? We got together and talked about it, and decided to take it.”
This employment opportunity also allowed them to invest in equipment and build a shop. Within six months of building this new shop, they promptly outgrew it. Larger and larger projects were coming in, leading the company to rent a facility three times bigger. Then in 2015, they constructed their current building, still standing at 735 Roblin Blvd, Winkler.
“We’ve gone back to that customer and thanked them for putting that trust in us. It was the kick we needed. We now had a business plan for the bank, and it all just fell together.”
Today, David Krahn holds the title of CEO, Johnny Krahn is the COO, and John Krahn is the owner, project support, and overall company dad.
The company’s struggle today, as is with many businesses across the country, is to find experienced long term employees. Krahn’s response to this issue is rather than looking out, he prefers to look inward.
“A lesson I’ve learned is that often people who never thought they could do a certain job can find themselves doing it very well,” Krahn elaborates. “It’s developing people within the organization. Something that has surprised me is how well you can see someone’s skillset and say, hey, I think there's more here than what they realize, and pull that out of them, creating that skillset that you need from within.”
Krahn also points to the strong bond with his father and brother as a key business asset.
“Each one of us has our own skillset, and different personal traits. We all have different approaches on how we handle things. And what has given us a lot of strength is being willing to take a balanced approach.” Krahn continues. “A lot of people come to us and say ‘boy, I wish I could do that with my family.’ And the reason they can’t is because of differences, different leadership styles, humility. Being willing to show benevolence or compromise is not easy.”
Krahn likes to remind people that their company culture does not work because they’re special, or are doing something remarkable, but rather it works because of the willingness to see every member of the team as the strength of the team.
Looking ahead, Krahn hopes that business will continue to flourish, and that the local and wider markets will continue to turn to Ironmen Industries for superior steel solutions. For more information about products and services, visit the Ironmen Industries website.