For two days in late January, Iron Worker contractors and fabricators gathered in blustery Chicago to figure out how to transition business ownership to the next generation by design. IMPACT sponsored the Succession Planning for the Ironworking Industry: For Contractors and Fabricators course led by Jake Appelman and Stuart Phoenix from FMI, the largest provider of management consulting services for the construction industry.

“Unfortunately, no one lives forever,” said IMPACT CEO Kevin Hilton. “However, companies can if the right strategies are implemented. IMPACT offers this course to help owners successfully transition their businesses into the hands of the next leaders successfully.”

The course covered key topics, including the effects of poor (or nonexistent) succession planning and ownership transfer, the development of an action plan, the cultivation of leaders within the company and the buying and selling process. Appelman and Phoenix deftly led the 16 participants through the material, leaving them with courses of action to implement once returning home.

“I needed this information to get started on my 5-to-10 year succession plan,” added Dave Bice from Bald Eagle Erectors, Inc., in Lino Lakes, Minn. “The Succession Planning course really got the ball rolling for me.”

“The course was outstanding,” said Roger Kramer, CFO of Pioneer Cladding & Glazing Systems in Mason, Ohio. “The information was very well presented and thought provoking. The course was presented in an environment that allowed for great discussion and a free flow of good ideas.”

Some attendees took creative solutions away from the course. “I came to the class to see if we can use this as a teaching tool and came out with a sense of finding a way to use this course to build our next pool of owners,” said Daniel O’Donnell, apprentice coordinator for Iron Workers Local Union 136 (Chicago).