Growing Up in the Insulation Industry
My dad and his best friend bought an insulation company in 1977 when I was eleven years old. Once a week, my brothers and I unloaded hundreds of bags of cellulose and stacked them in the upper loft area. We were exhausted… but not too exhausted to make tunnels! That barn still stands today on I-75 in Clarkston, Michigan. When I drive by, it always reminds me of those days, growing up in the insulation industry.
The insulation machine was an old Vanco. I was just tall enough to toss the material into the hopper. We weren’t using knives to open the bags, so I got pretty good at punching a hole into them and breaking them into the hopper. Yes, there was plenty of wrappings that went through that machine.
My dad eventually could not keep the machine running well. So, for some strange reason he thought that downsizing to the portable, through-blowers was good enough. Mind you, he did have three sons to load and blow, so time was not an issue. We insulated many homes: even apartment complexes and a very large warehouse with those blowers.
Over the years, my dad just kept us going with the portable blowers. We used the old Regals, Krendls, Intechs and Accu machines. Whatever portable machine he could get his hands on, we used it.
Thriving Through Difficult Economies
1980s. The recession hit Michigan very hard. Car companies and their suppliers were leaving Michigan. The building industry took a big hit. It was at this time that I went to college and worked my way through, helping my dad during the breaks and the summers. He sacrificially paid my college bills while I worked with the family business on these breaks.
Many companies came and went during those years, he stuck it out and built a solid base of over 75 builders/developers. He was able to work through those times and enjoyed the relief which came later that decade.
2008. By this time, we were insulating 250 plus homes/buildings in a year. I now had a family of my own. Instead of boys, we had three girls. My daughters would come and insulate with me when they had time off school. They were not afraid of fiberglass!
I didn’t realize that Michigan was going to go through another recession. Little did I know how important building a website for the business would be and the opportunities that would grow out of that.
My dad was a builder-focused business. Builders were going out of business. Insulation companies were closing down. Things changed overnight.
Companies asked us if we were interested in buying their machines. We were in no position to purchase a machine, but I started a webpage to flip machines. This was the start of a great opportunity but I didn’t realize it.
With website experience and the ability to get internet exposure, we eventually became master distributors for Cool Machines and were able to overcome the turbulent Michigan economy.
I never imagined all this would lead to us traveling the United States, helping insulation companies with their equipment needs and training. You never know what comes out of a family business. We are thankful to have had this great experience.