Printed with permission from Jan Horgan, In Business of Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota

Entrepreneurial thinking runs in the Wegner family. Fifty years of hard work, strategic planning and calculated risks transformed a one-room blacksmith shop in rural Iowa into a 52,000-square-foot business with an international sales base.

New Hampton Metal Fabrication in New Hampton, Iowa produces form equipment for the concrete pipe and pre-cast products industry, used for casting sewer and water infrastructure.

The business was founded by Jon Wegner over 50 years ago as a one room blacksmith business in rural New Hampton, Iowa. According to Jon Wegner’s grandson and current president, Jamie Wegner, evolution from a one man operation in 1945 to the specialized manufacturing facility of today came in stages. Each generation of the family business added new perspective and leadership. “In 1989,” says Wegner, "we were a company of a dozen people with $250,000 in annual sales. This year”, he notes, “sales will hit $6 million."

In 2005, Jamie and his brother, Nick, enrolled in a rural entrepreneurship development system called MyEntreNet to gain some new perspectives in effective operational management and to jump start a proposed plant expansion. MyEntreNet is offered by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Northern Iowa. MyEntreNet is a technology-integrated system which creates community-based support networks for entrepreneurship, provides start up and existing companies with advanced technical assistance and training, and connects entrepreneurs with the financial resources they need to launch or grow small companies.

Through the SBDC MyEntreNet program, Jamie and Nick took classes, received one-on-one technical assistance, and were networked with local and regional business professionals. This assistance helped them solidify their plans for a 20,000-square-foot expansion that would add another 20 jobs to the operation. “I had been in the family business for the past 15 years since graduating from college, but when it came to this expansion, I didn’t realize how much I needed to know. The resources the SBDC brought to the table were incredible. One of the greatest skills I learned was how to network. Mike Hahn of the SBDC brought us together with bankers, attorneys and other business owners week after week. I’m not a money man, but I’ve learned a lot about finance and cash flow through these ongoing conversations,” said Wegner.

The Wegners knew their success was hinged upon a strong business plan. They turned to SBDC consultants to help them plan their expansion. “Working with Mike in the class and outside of the classroom was very effective. Mike brought up issues I hadn’t even thought about—things that turned out to be central to our expansion plans,” said Jamie.

In 2005 New Hampton Metal Fabrication launched a plant expansion and technology upgrade in tandem with a strategic partnership with an Italian company. They moved their entire manufacturing line from a manual system to computer controlled. They upgraded their engineering and CAD systems with new 3D modeling software and networked the entire facility. By the end of 2005 they had completed a $2.6 million dollar expansion and brought their total employment to 57. More jobs will be added in 2006 as the company continues to build a strategic partnership with an Italian company, ‘Colle’, that sells automated machinery for the concrete industry.

“I’m kind of glad it’s behind us”, says Jamie as he walks among the automated presses, punches and plasma cutters. “No matter what anyone says, being in business is a great deal of work. The kind of education we received from the SBDC MyEntreNet program helped make it easier. No doubt we would have overlooked something important. I’d recommend every business owner, whether starting up or having been in business as long as we have, seek out these services.”