In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO and current Chairman of Hamill Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania based precision and fabricating company which serves the defense, aerospace, and power generation industries. We talk to Jeff about what led him to begin working at the company in 1976 (which is father owned), why he chose to sell the company to the employees, the importance of legacy and loyalty for second generation business owners, and how important developing a succession plan is for manufacturing companies and businesses more broadly.
Jeff Kelly is the Chairman and CEO of Hamill Manufacturing Company located in Penn Township, Pennsylvania. Hamill is a precision machining and fabricating company that serves the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and other defense related companies, the power generation industry, the aerospace industry, and other industries requiring high degrees of precision and quality. Jeff joined Hamill, a family-owned business, in 1976 after having served 5 years in the United States Marine Corps as an aviator. He became Executive Vice President in 1981 and assumed the presidency of the company in 1996. He purchased the company in 2002 from his father and became CEO in 2007.In 2004, he joined the Executive Team of the National Tooling & Machining Association and served as the national Chairman in 2007. His chairman’s theme was “Filling the Pipeline: Finding the Next Generation of Skilled Manufacturers.” In his roles outside the company, he has been involved with issues concerning workforce development and the preparation of students for manufacturing careers. Most notably, he was responsible for the establishment of the Southwest PA Bots IQ program. Jeff is a graduate of Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport, PA. He graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics. After the Marine Corps, he received a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
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This episode of the Owners At Work podcast is sponsored by GBQ. Headquartered in Columbus, OH, GBQ Capital Advisors provides a full range of valuation and ESOP advisory services to clients nationwide, including pre-ESOP planning, feasibility studies, formations, valuations, and transactions.
The Owners at Work Podcast is a continuation of the biannual Owners at Work Newsletter which ran for 19 years (1990-2019). We are hoping to continue the same conversations and focus on providing updates on everything employee ownership. We plan to interview practitioners with expertise in different facets of employee ownership, academics doing new and interesting research, and most importantly, individuals who have a personal experience with employee ownership, including current and former employee-owners, mid-level to C suite management, and selling owners.
We want to produce a show that engages with relevant questions and provides practical lessons and information. We want this podcast to include the voices of those who practice employee-ownership each and every day. To that end we want to hear from you! We want to highlight what you are doing, whether you are an employee-owned company, a practitioner, or researcher.
***Please reach out via email: oeoc@kent.edu
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