Ironmen Industries opened their doors Friday morning to staff, media, and invited guests for a fun anniversary celebration, featuring an appropriately seasonal\u00a0blend\u00a0of country\u00a0fair, and good local eats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Winkler\u00a0steel manufacturing company has\u00a0grown, pivoted, and now has a\u00a0focused\u00a0vision for the future. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Family from the start<\/p>\n
That vision started when\u00a0John Krahn and his two sons, David and\u00a0Johnny\u00a0filled a need in the agricultural world for\u00a0quality steel products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their product line has grown to include\u00a0superior pre-cast trusses, pre-engineered buildings, and custom steel products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CEO and owner David Krahn spoke ahead of his welcoming speech, covering the growth since the\u00a0company’s\u00a0start, where the future leads, and the importance of faith\u00a0alongside every step,\u00a0all along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David Krahn<\/p>\n
\u201cWho would have thought in 15 years\u00a0we’d\u00a0be where\u00a0we’re at\u00a0right now?\u201d\u00a0Krahn\u00a0marveled. \u201cYou know, we just started off as a family with a desire to provide a service to the community, particularly farmers, and build\u00a0a relationship\u00a0with local businesses.\u00a0Honestly,\u00a0that’s\u00a0been a passion of ours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u00a0over\u00a0time, the passion for just learning about business, for\u00a0myself in particular, has\u00a0turned into a passion for manufacturing.\u00a0I love what I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Accomplish quite something for community<\/p>\n
That passion is felt with pride at what the family business has done for everyone in\u00a0the\u00a0community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel so proud that we are a part of the manufacturing industry and get to play a part in providing quality parts, our products, excuse me, and services, and particularly now in the structural steel industry.\u201d\u00a0Krahn\u00a0shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe employ\u00a065 employees here at Ironmen,\u00a0and we have another business\u00a0that’s\u00a0right next to it that employs another 20 employees where we, and they work together in some fashion, but two different industries.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keep focused to maintain direction<\/p>\n
From a humble beginning, the company has taken off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just, we feel like\u00a0we’re on\u00a0a\u00a0spacecraft to the moon, watching the sights in awe, adrenaline rush along the way, but obviously, very cognitive and\u00a0concerned that no components break down, so we make it back home, right?\u201d Krahn explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways learning to measure, learning to keep the business as sharp as possible, and hitting ceilings along the way, learning ways around them.\u00a0I feel like\u00a0I’m\u00a0in school, you know, every day, just learning to stretch myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Faith provides certainty<\/p>\n
Krahn acknowledges the success is not to be taken for granted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u00a0we’d be naive to think that this is common,\u00a0to accomplish what we’ve accomplished in 15 years.\u201d he shared. \u201cWe’re grateful because we recognize\u00a0it’s\u00a0because of the team that\u00a0we’ve\u00a0been able to build.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love team building.\u00a0Then of course, I’m also\u00a0grateful for the Lord allowing me to be in this position.\u00a0I’m\u00a0someone that is passionate about my relationship with the Lord and\u00a0I recognize that he gives us\u00a0gifts.\u00a0He calls us to\u00a0different positions,\u00a0and to even I believe our team members,\u00a0they’re\u00a0called to do what\u00a0they’re\u00a0doing\u00a0and\u00a0they’re\u00a0good at it, and\u00a0they’re\u00a0in their right place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Connection provides strength<\/p>\n
Krahn\u00a0sees that as a strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s\u00a0what makes us strong and resilient in this economy right now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Krahn\u00a0explained. \u201cSo,\u00a0I’m\u00a0excited about the future.\u00a0I’m\u00a0not, yes, do we worry about things?\u00a0Have we had a tough ride in a while for sure?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all are in the same\u00a0boat\u00a0and\u00a0I’m\u00a0very aware of some of the struggles that people are facing, some of the businesses, what\u00a0they’re\u00a0facing.\u00a0But\u00a0I’m\u00a0also optimistic\u00a0of\u00a0the future and excited about what\u00a0lays\u00a0ahead of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnny Krahn<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
The family bond is another asset, for sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI, as a visionary and an integrator, have the privilege of playing both parts along with my family.\u201d\u00a0Krahn\u00a0added.\u00a0I’m\u00a0very grateful\u00a0for\u00a0being\u00a0able to be in a family business and grow with them as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnny Krahn, John Krahn, David Krahn
\nKnowing where next to go<\/p>\n
Speaking\u00a0to\u00a0Ironmen\u2019s future, he admitted a bit of hesitation but shared what the road ahead looks like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where\u00a0it’s like, okay, what’s the\u00a0best\u00a0time to tell the world what we’re doing?\u201d\u00a0Krahn\u00a0wondered. \u201cBut\u00a0I think it\u00a0is.\u00a0We have always been in the structural steel market, but\u00a0we’re\u00a0taking it\u00a0serious\u00a0now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re\u00a0pivoting.\u00a0With what’s going on in the industry,\u00a0the\u00a0challenges we’ve faced with the tariffs and with just some of the, most of our larger clients being really slow right now, we’ve\u00a0taken a pivot towards structural steel in a big\u00a0way,\u00a0and\u00a0we’re\u00a0very excited\u00a0about where\u00a0we’re\u00a0heading with that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re\u00a0overwhelmed with the response we’re getting for opportunities in that industry.\u201d Krahn\u00a0shared.\u00a0\u201cJust the\u00a0need that\u00a0we’re\u00a0seeing that\u00a0is there to keep the structural steel industry in the prairies for the prairies, rather than having to go outside of the prairies to find your product.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think we can keep that right here.\u00a0That\u00a0truly excites\u00a0me,\u00a0that we can be part of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back to the party<\/p>\n
Following our interview, Krahn provided a welcome speech for the attendees, ahead of the lunch. Outside, the\u00a0Ironmen\u00a0parking lot\u00a0became an outdoor fair with\u00a0a food truck, games, rides, and prizes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
John Krahn<\/p>\n
A special presentation from David and his brother Johnny to their father\u00a0John Krahn saw cameras drawn for photo ops.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor\u00a0Henry Siemens closed the\u00a0formal\u00a0part of\u00a0the\u00a0morning ahead of lunch with high praise for Ironmen\u2019s accomplishments, and what the future holds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 15 years,\u00a0you can’t get here without a committed, dedicated ownership group, without strong management, and without excellent people.\u201d Mayor Siemens said. \u201cWe appreciate the investment that you make into Winkler.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor Henry Siemens
\nFamily and community<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that aspect of it is what excites us most in Winkler, is when we have entrepreneurs who want to do that, and\u00a0they’re\u00a0surrounded by people who want to support that journey and want to make that happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we see Ironmen and the family giving back to our community and helping our community in so\u00a0many different ways, that also continues to encourage people to come here and work here because they know that there will be good employment options.\u201d Siemens added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re\u00a0excited to hear some of the things that\u00a0you’re\u00a0planning, and\u00a0it’s\u00a0fantastic.\u00a0We’re behind you, and we want to support you, and we want to continue to encourage you.\u00a0Congratulations on the first 15 years, and\u00a0we’re\u00a0looking forward to the next\u00a015.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
with files from Ironmen\u00a0Industries\u00a0and Andrew Bergen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ironmen Industries opened their doors Friday morning to staff, media, and invited guests for a fun anniversary celebration,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-812227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}