South Bend company shows spectacular growth

By the time David Huber was ready to retire from Imagineering Finishing Technologies, the company he founded in 1959, F. James Hammer already had plans. Hammer had risen rapidly through a succession of management positions and understood the dynamics of running the day-to-day operations.

Even after he retired, Huber hoped to maintain the family business model for his firm, a provider of metallurgical consulting and process applications in diverse markets. Founded on Huber’s expertise in metallurgical science, the company had sustained a consistent presence in providing boutique coatings that addressed issues of wear and corrosion.

Jim Hammer, president and CEO of Imagineering Finishing Technologies

It had started as a family business, and Huber wanted it to stay that way.

Hammer had other ideas.

“I could see what Imagineering could become,” Hammer says. “I wanted the company to move forward in a more professional, market-focused direction. So in 1996, I bought the company from him.”

Strategic growth

With endorsement and primary funding from Old Kent Bank, Hammer presented his business plan to the City of South Bend’s Redevelopment Commission, which approved $250,000 from the City’s industrial revolving loan fund. That funding provided the assistance that helped Hammer complete the purchase.

To take his company in a new direction, Hammer looked at ways in which Imagineering could expand into other applications and markets, as well as deepening business relationships with existing customers.

“I was interested in growing the business strategically,” Hammer says. “Our biggest opportunities were with the largest entities, such as NASA, BorgWarner Automotive, General Electric and Honeywell. I wanted to listen to them and get to know their needs so that we could supply those needs.”

One of Hammer’s strategies involved the creation of the Imagineering Institute of Technology for the continuing education of Imagineering employees. He brought in people with Fortune 500 experience to coach his workforce in best practices in specific areas where the company could grow, such as engineering and quality improvement.

“We’ve developed a vocation for metal finishing,” he adds. “We established a forum in which the teaching and coaching could occur. We’ll sponsor a topic, invite our own people in and bring in experts from outside to lead the sessions.”

Spectacular results

The strategy paid off. Under Hammer’s leadership, Imagineering has expanded its asset base by 450 percent and its staff of employees by 330 percent. It has seen revenue improvement of nearly 500 percent. The company has even shown respectable growth during the economic uncertainties of the past few years. In 2007, at the peak of the recession, the company’s assets stood at about $7 million. Today, they are at $11 million.

In addition, not only has the company managed to avoid layoffs, it has continued to hire new employees.

South Bend has proven an ideal location because it sits in a strategic area from a shipping standpoint.

“We’re in an industrial triangle that encompasses Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Chicago,” Hammer says. “I call it ‘The Great Industrial Triangle.’ We have customers within a 250-mile radius. As one of the first metal-finishing companies certified to world-class quality and environmental standards, we also have global customers in China, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

“We’ve grown during the recession period, but maybe not as much as you’d need to with a new building,” Hammer says. “We initiated a mini-expansion here by purchasing and converting an existing building near the airport. Mayor Steve Luecke provided assistance by working out some issues with the City, such as a legal description of the property related to sewage easements.”

Future expansion

Hammer is encouraged by the improvements he has seen in the city during the 15 years, and he attributes those improvements to Luecke’s administration.

“Steve Luecke is an outstanding ‘remodeler,’” he says. “Every part of our town since he became mayor has become better: neighborhoods, city services, infrastructure and so on. He didn’t do this by bulldozing down problem areas and starting over. He did it by talking to people and finding out their needs. His accomplishment was in preserving what was already there, investing in it, and making it more valuable than it was.

“His vision for South Bend is to make it a 21^st-century city,” Hammer says.

Currently, Imagineering has three locations: two in South Bend, and one in Indianapolis. As the company continues to do well, Hammer says another expansion may be in the works within the next few years. 

“My vision is to keep growing in a controlled manner,” he says. “The future of Imagineering is based on our ability to teach and train faster and better than the others in the industry, with an eye toward identifying and responding to market needs.

“South Bend has the infrastructure to support our growth,” he adds. “We plan to stay here.”