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Metalworker for the rich and famous
By JOHN REINAN How long have you been working with metal? Since I was about 12. My father started up his own business back in Ireland and he showed me how to do it, slowly but surely, as a kid. I've been with this company about nine years, a year and a half as production manager. Did you have any other training?I actually left school at 16 and took an exam to get into technical college. I took an 18-month course as a welder. But you can't really go to college to learn this. It's got to be handed down. When did you come to the United States?About nine years ago. I came for a visit in 1987 and I loved the country. It was always my dream to come back. I applied for a visa every year and never got it. Finally, one year I didn't apply and my mother did, but she didn't tell me. She called and said, "You got in," and I said, "How can that be? I didn't apply." And she said, "No, but I did." What kind of things do you like to make?I'd say furniture. I do a lot of off-the-wall stuff. Whatever the customer can draw, we can build. What are the high-volume items at your forge?Driveway gates, spiral staircases and staircase rails. Do you do a lot of unusual stuff?Well, we do a lot of work for the rich and famous. Hulk Hogan, we've done work for him. Chevy Chase. Vince Naimoli of the Devil Rays. David Wells, the baseball player. Tony Little, the fitness guy from TV. We've done a lot of work for Disney World and Busch Gardens. When you're working for the rich and famous, does it run into a lot of money?Sure. We've done $50,000 jobs, easy. Every now and then, a $100,000 job will pop up. What's your favorite thing about this job?I like seeing the finished work and making sure it's up to the standards we expect. I'm not going to produce junk -- I won't do it. Whatever the customer is told they're going to get, that's what they'll get. What's your least favorite thing?An unhappy customer. Was it tough becoming a manager?I wouldn't say so, because ever since I've worked for the company, I've tried to look at everything. It was a gradual change; I wasn't thrown right in. And I still do some fabricating. What kind of money do you make?I couldn't say that. I've got a policy here that wages are not discussed with anyone. Are there any women doing this work?Not here. There are a few floating around. It's a very physical job. I had a woman come in once and I hired her. But it was a bit too tough for her. This is an ancient craft. Do you ever have a sense that you're following in a lot of people's footsteps?Yes, I do. But I have to say, I'm afraid it's a dying art. It's a hard craft to learn. There's a lot of math that comes into the building of stuff. You get into compound-curve rails, it's very complicated. And you also have to be a bit of an artist. What kind of feeling do you get when you look at something beautiful that you've created?I'm proud. I'm very proud if it leaves here and it's built to the best of our capabilities. I'm a very happy man. And what makes me even happier is when a customer calls and says they like the work. If you could have your dream job, what would it be?To be a pilot of World War II fighter planes. Just to take people up and fly them around in those planes.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
