History of Spradlin Bros. Welding Co. - 1962 - 2009

Sam Spradlin and Albert Spradlin Jr. founded Spradlin Bros. Welding Co. in 1962. They began with 1 used school bus yellow 1959 Chevrolet Apache step side pickup truck, with a portable welder, and 1 small arc welder in a 2 car garage. They were convinced that with hard work and sacrifice, they could someday provide a better living for their young families. They worked the business part time until about 1964 when they thought they had enough work to justify a full time effort. In 1966 they decided to purchase their second truck & second portable welder. The business continued to be successful and grow and in 1967 they purchased the former Quick Mfg. building at 2787 S. Limestone St. in Springfield.

As the business continued to flourish, more equipment and employees were added as well. Additional portable welding trucks were added in 1968, 69, and 1973.

By 1973 they had employed 3 additional men to help them keep up with the ever-increasing workload. Business continued to grow with hard work and long hours of dedicated service to their customers.

In 1976 Sam's son Jeff started working full time and in 1979 JR's son Mike began full time work. From 1973 into the early 1980's the business had continued to grow steadily with additional employees added when needed. Due to the early 1980's recession the business in 1982 had its only layoff (of one man) in its history but by spring 1983 things were back up to speed.

Also in 1983 the company became incorporated so that Sam could retire and his stock could be sold to Jeff. By this time there were 4 employees, 5 portable trucks and a broadening customer base. Due to the variety of work, along with old-fashioned service, the service area was extended to a 100-mile radius of Springfield.

In 1991 Jr. Retired and Mike became Jeff's partner. Business still continued to grow with employment in 1994 at 10, more modern shop equipment and 10 trucks in the fleet. Their customer base has continued to grow with work now being done in 5 states. Also In 1994 a small addition was added to the building on S. Limestone St. to give some temporary breathing room. This brought the total Sq. footage up to 4200.
 

The sons continued to stick by the belief of their fathers that quality work at a fair price will allow the company to continue to prosper. Sadly, Jr. went to be with the LORD in October of 1994. He is greatly missed, but has passed on a wealth of knowledge to us.

In the fall of 1995 with business steadily growing, employment at 15 and the fleet at 13 vehicles Mike and Jeff stepped out on faith and purchased 4.7 acres on Quality Lane in Springfield to build a new 15,000 sq. ft. building, into which they moved the business. The new facility was opened in February of 1996.

In 1997 SPRADLIN BROS. WELDING CO. celebrated its 35th anniversary. Employment was at 20 with 13 vehicles. Our equipment has grown to include a 175-ton CNC controlled press brake, a set of 1/4 x 10' plate rolls, a 1/4 x 10 plate shear, 8 welding stations and much much more.

In 1998 employment was at 22. We have added 1 new Flatbed Truck, a new Yale Forklift, and a new Hyd-Mec band saw.

1999 brought about many new challenges, blessings and tragedies. Jim Koepnick survived a close call with cancer through God's Wonderful love and mercy! We could not do what we are doing without Jim's help! We also lost 2 faithful employees, Frenchy Martin, who died of liver failure; Steve Ferryman. who died from an alcohol related accident, and 1 great friend, Mike Lawson, who was lost in a tragic accident. All three have been greatly missed. (John 10: 9-10) We were awarded the Misc. Metals National contract for 16 new Meijer Stores which caused us to re-think how we did everything! Employment stayed around 21 to 24. Also in 1999 a new Navistar DT-466 22' stake bed truck for deliveries.

2000 brought about more growth, mostly in additional equipment. We added a forklift, service truck, large Hyd-Mec band saw and a square wave Tig machine. We also started construction on a new 10,500 SQ FT building addition so that we can move all of the forming equipment into it freeing up more area in the original building for welding and fabrication!

2002 has been our most challenging year on record due to the weak economy and increased overhead. God again blessed us (He is so Awesome!) by sending Sim Bowen to be our Plant Manager. (Proverbs 3:5) Sim is a wonderful brother in Christ who takes care of our employees physical and spiritual needs!

2003 business held steady with profits increasing and bills decreasing due to Sim's diligent work as Plant Manager. We also purchased a new Virtek laser QC Machine and are Trusting Jesus and standing firm on his Word!!! We also had our first Customer Appreciation Day, which was a great success.

2004 was a great year for our Company with increasing sales and a growing customer base. We have fabricated items for new customers in: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia! Praise God. We hired Tiana Bowen as our Secretary and personal assistant. She is a hard worker and will be a great asset to our company! We also hired a new Cad Operator/Estimator Chris Andorfer and expect good things from him.

We did have one loss in 2004 which was the retirement of longtime friend and Operations Manager Jim Koepnick. Jim was instrumental in helping our company transition from our old facility to our current facility. His loyalty, wisdom and since of humor is greatly missed and we wish him the best in his retirement. WE LOVE YOU MAN!

2005 started out strong with an increase in shop production type work and portable work which continued throughout the year setting a new sales record. Praise God!! Also we would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to the people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. May God Bless You.

2006 continued with strong sales and an increasing workload reminding us of the pre 9/11 world we used to live in. This steadily continued and increased throughout the year and ended by setting a new all times sales record. Praise God!! We had one loss this year which was the retirement of a long time employee Pete Martin. We wish Pete the best and thank him for his 25 Plus years of service to our family! In December we invited our local Army National Guard Post to eat lunch with us so we could show them how much we appreciate their service to our country. I hope that there were as blessed as much as we were honored by having them! And to all of the men and women in the Armed Forces: we will be praying for your safe return. We also greatly appreciate your sacrifices and diligence in keeping our country free! Ooh! Ra!

In 2007 we are celebrating our 45th year of Serving the Midwest! God still continues to bless our company after almost ½ a century! Our partnership with Changing Lives Now Ministries continues to be a huge blessing to us! We were able to sponsor more Christian events and concerts this year realizing that the key to being blessed by God is to bless others whenever possible! Mike realized a life long dream by going to the White House for a 3 hour meeting on behalf of the Nehemiah Foundation of which he is on the Board. God also used him in Atlanta to speak to a Judge on behalf of a Libre House graduate.

2008 started out with slower than normal sales until March, but God is faithful and sales increased rapidly! We kept feeling that God wanted us to take another step of faith so in June we prayed about the purchase of a new 350 Ton Press Brake and 5000 Watt Laser to replace some existing equipment that was getting outdated and just couldn’t keep up. We felt that God wanted to increase our business and this equipment would give us capabilities that we have never had before. By opening up new sales avenues we will be able to bless more of our local ministries which is our ultimate goal here. We also hired a salesman and long time friend, Phil Hale, to cover the Columbus, OH area. One new 2008 1 ton service truck was put on the road as was a new 2008 Colorado sales truck. We also stepped out of our comfort zone this year and supported the World Impact Tour and were blessed seeing all of those kids and young adults receive Christ! Seeing men, women, boys and girls come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is why this shop exists!! The year ended with us still busy; we received the new equipment in December and it is up and running. We seemed to watch the world fall apart around us from Aug -Dec with the banking crisis and the election ….but we still know that God is in charge and that He orders man's steps. Our life is in His hands as well as this dusty old welding shop. We look forward to 2009 with great anticipation of Christ’s return someday! It can’t be too long…. I don’t believe He will tolerate much more of our foolishness!!

Sam trains Libre House welder		Aaron Spradlin (l) gets a lesson from Uncle Sam.

Sam (Jeff's father) turned 80 in 2008 and continues to "help the boys" when needed. It's wonderful watching him train the Libre House men to weld and fabricate with his 50+ years of welding experience.

We continue looking forward to serving our customers in the future!

Thank you, Mike and Jeff Spradlin

P.S. We are currently looking for qualified fabricators to add to our crew.