Still Building America—It’s a family affair

Craig Montgomery TIG welding.

Craig Montgomery is as well-rounded and driven as anyone I’ve covered thus far in the “Still Building America” series. His story also is an example of how, beyond a formal education, family can play a huge role in helping develop and sustain skills and passion that can turn into a business and career.

Both Craig’s dad and older brother Jeff were engineers for the Eaton Corporation in one of its automotive divisions. As a youngster, Craig tried to glean as much as possible from them. His parents did more than just verbally encourage him, they backed up their words with actions, allowing him to use the garage as his personal shop.

“I remember striking my first arc at the age of 11 with a Lincoln AC 225 while building a dune buggy chassis with my dad. I was the kid in middle school that would buy the riding lawnmower down the road that didn’t run well, fix it up, and resell it on eBay for a profit. I was eager to learn both the hands-on skills, as well as the business side of things.”

When Craig turned 16 he began working at a body shop, where he continued working through high school and college. He makes a great point about how attention to detail and the mindset it takes to make a quality product translate from one trade to the next.

“While working at the body shop for six years, I gained the finishing skills that I believe now contribute heavily to the quality of product our shop produces every day. Working with automotive paint and performing body repair give you an eye for detail that is easily adapted to the welding and fabrication industry.”

Being interested in not just the hands-on skills but also in how to run a business, Craig studied at Ferris State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in automotive management. He then immediately attended a four-month welding course at Lincoln Electric.

Still in his early 20s, he moved toward combining his family and its collective blue-collar skill set and white-collar knowledge base into one concerted effort. This is when M&L Fabrication was born. Since then the business has moved from a garage to a shop to a 4,000-sq.-ft. building.

“Our future goal for the company is to continue to build up the general fabrication business and eventually develop a second division directed toward the automotive industry. Combining both automotive and welding is where my true passion lies. We currently provide mobile welding and fabrication to the entire Midwest, while also having a shop in Grandville, Mich. Our areas of focus are commercial construction, industrial material handling, food and beverage equipment, prototypes, and low-volume production runs.”

And working with family, that’s the best part.

“My favorite part of my job is that I get to work on building a business with my family. My brother Jeff is my business partner, and the whole family takes part in different projects. Jeff has become a mentor for me when it comes to the business and financial side of things. Without that, it would be hard to gain the knowledge that he has, coming from a background of being with large Fortune 500 corporations. We all learn something new every day, and are able to build off of each other. And for me, that is the best part about it.”

TIG weld.

I asked Craig to share what advice he’d give to someone coming up in the trades. While it’s important to keep your ears and mind open, I completely agree that discretion is key.

“Soak up all the information you can. Eat, sleep, and breathe the interest that you have. Surround yourself with successful people, and learn from them. It’s important to listen to what the good experienced people have to say, while also forming your own opinion. Most important, go home every night feeling like you gave it everything you had, and repeat that day after day.”

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