At every gathering of shop managers in this business--at events like FABTECH® and The FABRICATOR®’s Leadership Summit--I always notice how diverse people’s backgrounds are.

Most of the metal fabrication that goes on in this country happens in small businesses, firms much like Amtex Precision Fabrication, a 13-person job shop outside Houston. Last week I called Jacob Melton, vice president, and learned he had entered the field six years ago after a decade of working at a corporate job in Chicago, where he commuted to the office and worked on carefully planned software projects to help financial services firms sell products.
(more...)