When Dave Chambers called me his partner in front of a customer 35 years ago, it gave me a feeling of empowerment I still remember to this day. Since then, I don’t recall many other owners extending the same courtesy to their non-owner employees. But, I believe that this concept of a partnership, sort of a benevolent one, can be nearly as beneficial as the other forms involving minority partners or even silent partners. Running a business without partners can be a lonely task, especially with the diversity of functions in a component operation, and Dave Chambers really understood this.
Dave’s first experience with components was in sales for a panelized housing visionary, Don Scholz. When he broke away to start Imperial Components, he realized that manufacturing wasn’t his strong suit, so he brought in his inexperienced younger brother Henry to manage production. That allowed Dave to do what he could do best, the selling, and Henry to figure out how to do the fabricating. But, after a few years, as often happens in partnerships, the brothers were at odds, and Dave agreed to purchase Henry’s share of the business. So, to replace his departing partner, Dave elevated Henry’s foreman, Don Hershey, to become his new partner. To all outward appearances, Don was Dave’s equal, even though he initially had no ownership. However, for ten years Don had observed how well the Dave–Henry partnership had worked, and he knew how to step into Henry’s shoes. This arrangement also enabled acquisition of a second plant in Phoenix. One great partnership begat another, and Don Hershey followed his partner to WTCA’s Presidency, the WTCA Hall of Fame, and to ownership of the business.
Another type of successful partnership is that involving a silent partner, typically a person or entity that provides capital to fund a startup, or one in which an active partner leaves daily operations and works remotely, with varying degrees of influence. This was the case with Lenny Sylk, whose college friend was active in the startup of Shelter Systems but then remained financially involved through much of the growth of the business without any public role. This was also the case with Dick Rotto, who was almost entirely financed by Charlie Barns, without Charlie’s active involvement in Trussway, until Dick acquired Charlie’s share. An even better example of the advantages of a silent partnership occurred with the founding of the plate and engineering company, Lumbermate. The founder, George Eberle, had demonstrated his engineering and sales prowess at Hydro-Air Engineering but lacked the capital to start his own business. So, unbeknownst within the industry, George very astutely established a silent partnership with the Standard Tool and Die Company of St. Louis, which continued until both partners agreed to sell their business to Alpine.
One additional type of partnership can best be described as a collaborative one, as may occur between a supplier and his customer, or between two business operators in the similar businesses. No better example of the latter occurred with the nearly lifelong alliance of the late Calvin Hall and Gifford Shaw. Calvin ran Carolina Truss near Charlotte, North Carolina and Gifford ran Shaw Components in Sumter, South Carolina about 85 miles away. These successful owners shared nearly all aspects of their business operations and took advantage of each other’s best practices. When another truss plant became available, they jointly purchased it and successfully ran it as Ag Truss in Bishopville, South Carolina. And when both sold their businesses to consolidators, they joined together to run another housing industry-related business.
Working closely together toward common goals is the essence of partnership. In such a relationship, both partners gain the advantage of seeing those goals from a different perspective, and ultimately can make better decisions. And customers and suppliers who deal successfully with a business partner will likely feel greater loyalty to that business.
