Westway marks 50 years in business

Second generation owners of Westway Machinery, brothers Frank, Bernie, and Kurt Walter.

This year, metal forming and fabricating machinery distributor Westway Machinery celebrates 50 years in business.

The business was founded in 1972 by Rudy Walter, a machine-tool specialist from Germany, from his home after a number of years working for other machine tool distributors. Over the years, his three sons Frank, Bernie, and Kurt gradually joined the family business and, in time, took over operations. The business remains a family-run operation.

The company has continued to grow over the years, taking on new product lines to ensure it can offer as broad a selection of products as possible to its customers.

Canadian Fabricating & Welding sat down with the Walter brothers to discuss the importance of this momentous year.

CFW: 50 years in business is a big milestone. What does it mean to you to see the family company reach this remarkable anniversary?

Bernie: Being 50 years in business is a milestone that makes us very proud. I am sure our father, as an immigrant arriving in Canada in the late ‘50s, never imagined that he would start his own company in 1972, let alone see it continue to prosper for another 50 years. Sadly, our father and mother are no longer with us to celebrate this milestone, but I know they would have been very proud of their sons and the extended Westway family. Our father was always grateful for the opportunities this country had provided him and we are grateful to carry on his legacy and honour him by carrying on the family business.

CFW: What do you think has been the key to your longevity as a business?

Frank: That’s a complicated question. I think there are many ingredients that have allowed us to go the distance. To start, along the way, we have been fortunate to have a lot of loyal and talented people as part of our team. We all know that it is hard to find good people, so when you do find them, it is important to treat them well. We always strive to treat our staff with respect and dignity, making sure they know they are very much appreciated.

Likeminded commitment is another key to our longevity. The three brothers currently owning the business view it the same way. Despite our varying strengths and weaknesses, we always work together with the same goals in mind and we know we can trust one another.

From a strategic perspective, our business philosophy has always been to maintain a large inventory. I was always told “You can’t sell from an empty warehouse,” so we try to make sure we are well-stocked. We know this is counterintuitive in this “just-in-time” world, but there is nothing worse than losing a sale to a competitor, after investing countless sales time, because you can’t meet the delivery.

Westway was founded by Rudy Walter in 1972, seen here with wife Hildegard. “Sadly, our father and mother are no longer with us to celebrate this milestone, but I know they would have been very proud of their sons and the extended Westway family,” said Bernie Walter.

CFW: Obviously, you’ve seen many changes in the fabricating industry over that time. Are there one or two that you felt were particularly important for your team?

Kurt: Fabricating metal is still fabricating metal. Nothing has really changed other than the technology available to cut, bend, form, and weld the metal. The continual improvement of technology to fabricate metal faster, more efficiently, and with better quality is what keeps us in business every day as we help our customers stay ahead of their competition with the right equipment.

However, if there is one overarching change in the metal fabricating industry that has been important to our team, it would have to be the difficulty our customers are having in finding skilled people to run and maintain their equipment. As a consequence, the need for “smarter,” “easier-to-use” machinery has grown significantly. Metal fabricating companies are under pressure to invest in technology to stay competitive.

CFW: What comes next? What do you expect to be the biggest trends for customers over the coming 5 to 10 years?

Frank: Without a doubt, automation. As I mentioned earlier, the industry is sorely lacking skilled people and often can’t even find unskilled people to do basic work. I think we are going to see a lot more robotics in the metal fabrication industry. Just like we see robotics in many welding operations, we are going to see more and more robotic press brakes. Press brake operators are nowhere to be found. But the automation will not be limited to press brakes. We will see more investment in all areas that can be automated, like metal finishing and material handling.

CFW: Westway has had strong family involvement throughout its first 50 years. How is the family’s third generation involved today?

Bernie: Family businesses can create many challenges as they move through each successive generation. There are many concerns and pitfalls to navigate as family, as employees, and even as possible partners. We presently have three of our children involved. Two are actively involved at Westway: one oversees the sales management after working his way through many departments, and the other as marketing manager, where youth is a very valuable attribute to understand the marketing channels of today. The third child is actively managing a related company.

So far so good. All the boys are doing a very good job and have become very important in managing our day-to-day operations. Their involvement is motivational for the current ownership and also allows us some more freedom. It certainly appears that the Walter family will continue to play an active role in the company’s future for many more years to come.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@canadianfabweld.com.

Westway Machinery, www.westwaymachinery.com

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