e A huge showroom, elaborate landscaping, and an impeccably

organized shop makes a lasting impression on customers.

What do you when your building is pinned by a widening freeway in !he

front and a high hill in the back. with homes on lOp? And what do you do when you operate in a town that limits your operations with strict covenants? The answer is si mple - you tum lemons into lemonade.

Such is the case with Dukc of lron Inc .. a 24-year NOMMA member firm based in Smithtown, N.V. Twenty two years ago, nol even company president Dick Schumacher could have cnvi~ sioned thai a smal l. boarded-up diner would one day become home to one of

40

Long Island's premiere fabricators. BUI Dick. and his partner Renee S. Riley, saw promise in the humble structure, and decided to make it their showroom.

A lifelong ornamental metal entrepreneur, Dick gol his sian in the industry in 1962 when he began doing pholle sales for a railing and awning company. It was quite a switch from his original plans to be a radio announcer. but Dick found that he had a knack for sa les and he stayed in the business. By 1967 he had opened his first company and was well Oil his way to a long and illustrious career in met-

By Todd Daniel, Ed itor

alwork. and in 1974 the Duke of IrOIl was born.

During his early years in the busi­ness. Dick learned to appreciate the value of a showroom as a marketing tool. At various times. he opcrnled showrooms for himself and others. and from 1976 10 1980 Dick and Renee ran a showroom inside a local depar1menl store. When they learned thaI the store was closing, it was limc to find another location.

From past experience. Dick knew that location is vital, and that's the one thing the lillie diner had going for it. Located in the north central par1 of

FABRICATOR September/October 2002

Long Island, the building is next to the Jericho Turnpike. which is one or three main arteries that take com­muters from New York City on one end all the way to the amucllt i-lamp1ons on the other side.

Tired of renting. Dick was look­ing ror II building \0 purchase. and the old diner caught his eye. As it turned out, the structure had also been used as II storage yll rd ror II mllst)nry supply firm and as a pool supply business. After a linle investigation, Dick learned thai the property's currcnt owncr was another pool supply finn

FABRICATOR Septembef,'Oc\ober 2002

Ihlll apparently did nOt WOIll any more competitors moving in . Soon. sales terms were worked OUi and a deal was struck.

Initially, the diner served as lhe showroom only. with the plant in another location. But again. rrom past experience Dick understood the importance or having the office. plant. and showroom under one roof: Othcrwise. he says. you lose vll luable communication.

According to Dick. "TIle ideal sit­uation is to have everything under one roor. In that way irl have a question or

irthe shop foreman has a queslion thaI requires an immediate answcr, you have the best or bolh worlds."

II was around 1982 when the ambitious plans wcre made 10 build a larger building thai would actually wrap over and around the original restllUrollt. TIle tight space and unusu­al shape or the lot turned out 10 be a blessing in disguise because it forced the company to come up with a highly efficient shop layouL The city was particular about their restrictions, and did not want a large serop yard out­side. which also innucnc(.'ti the design.

•

LEFT: Once delivered, atoc;k Is storad lind cut . s needed. A80VE: Inventory II kepi In _ II organized bins.

The boldest part of the projl..'ci \VIiS

removing p'ln of (1 steep hill in the back. which was replaced by a land­scaping wall. During the excuvation, the neighbors above becctmc a liule nervous at limcs. By 1984. the project wa.'" complete and Duke of Iron had a new and permnnent home with excel­lent drive-by visibility nnd an emdent work area.

Under the current layout. lhe old diner holds the showroom. kitchen, sah.:l1 offices. and foreman 's office.

while the addition includes the phtnt, paim shop. g:unges, and twO addition­al offices. Like mony fabrication shops. the 8.000-square-foot facility is designed around the "now" concept where rdW IIllllerial conK'S in one side. is cut, fabricated. p.'lintcd. and lhen shipped oul on the other side of the building.

Without question , Ihe most unique aspect about the Duke of I ron is the I,OOO-sqUBrc-foo! showroom, which reatures snmples of gntes.

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fences, furniture, stairs, and dozens of railings. The showroom is superbly organized and has muhiplc sales sta· tions where a sah . ."spc:r.;on and cus­lomer can sit and lalk. Each station is stocked with a calculator and duplicmc supplies. which keeps sales personnel from fumbling nfound looking for something when talking to a customer. For visilOrs who need additional ideas. the showroom hIlS a table of pboto albums Bnd catalogs. and castings arc displayed on the wall overhead.

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Dick cannot emphasize cnough the value of allowing homl."Owncrs, decorators, and architects to see full size product samples. "They have no concept of what the actual size differ· enee feels like. Most architects have a general idea, bUI this is u good con fir· malion. I f (hey see the materinl before it's made, it eliminates a lot of 11I."Udllehl.'S oOClVIllrds:'

A more recent improvement to the showroom can be found in the win· dows, ..... hich feature large, red ncon lights that read, "Railings," "Spiral Stairs." and " Fences:' The idea is yet another example of Dick's marketing savvy, and they crcate a las ting impression on passerbys. According to Dick. the s igns wcre added because even though " iron" is in the company name, il lot of people did not kno ..... what products the finn offered. " 1 drove around many wl.'Cks looking at neon signs before deciding on a color and size:' he says.

Yet another cxumplc of how 0

polenlially ovenl/helming challenge turned into an asset was ill 1996 when the Depanment of Transportation announced that they werc widening the highway_ Already on II nUITOw strip ofland and backed by a hill , the Duke of lron staff wondered how the con· structioll would impact t.heir busim.:ss. In the end, the project. made their finn even more accessible by adding a cen­Icr t.uming lune. making it l.'1lSicr tUld safer for cuslomers to enler the park­ing lot.. "We lost no parking spaces, and t.hey even movt."tI the sidewalk," Dick said, "They dldn't even have the heart to cut down the trees."

In 1999, the company expcri· enced a major change 10 leadership when partner and co-founder Renee Riley announc(.-d her retirement aOer a long career in the mela ls industry. Replacing her was Poul Montelbano, owner of The Ironworker Inc .. a fc l­low NOMMA member finn. Under the arrongemeni, Paul purch3Sed a 50 percenl ownenohip in the business. Dick continues to serve as president and handles the design and sales, \.\ohilc Paul oversees production and assists with the paperwork. Ooth long. lime fabricators afC active in NOMMA's New York Chapler. and Paul IS serving a second term as chap--

FABRICATOR Septembef/Octobef 2002

RIGHT: This Clnderlne

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•

Icr president. Like his punner, Paul began

working in the ornamcnull metals husiness at a young age. A fiLT success­fully runnmg his employer's business whi le he was on vucation. Paul obl.ainL-d the confidence to venture on his own. and In 1988 The Ironworker opened for business. "Then I realized how lillie I knew," he says. and jok-

ingly adds, " Had I known mure I might still be working for [my previ­ous employer]:' For most of his 11 years al The Ironworker. Paul operated OUI of a basement shop owned by his rather-in-Iaw. where he crafted rail­ings. gales. and window guards for the surrounding commumty.

Currently, the 1\10 0 entrepreneurs co-manage a 11-pcrson company that

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includcs II fabricators and installers, a project manager. sales person. office manager. and shop roreman. TIle shop operatcs 7:30 a.m. 10 4 p.m. Monday Ihrough Friday, plus 7:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The showroom is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 11 n.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Their vehicle neet includes a flatbed truck. box truck. van. and II

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•

Ford Focus sLBtion wagon. AI night, the trucks are stored in a large three· door garage that serves as a shipping, finishing, and asscmbly area during the day,

Overall, 90-95 percent of the company's busincs.'l is r(.osidcntial and their market area is primarily Long Island. TIle company enjoys (lJl aver­age backlog of 3 months and in June. for instance. they had 132 jobs in the shop in VllriOUS stnges of completion. Most of the jobs are ntilings. and COI11-

mon types produced include pipe rails, aluminum, bross. stainless sleel. and chrome.

The finn also sells Lucile, a clear plastic ecrylic that can be combined with various metal fillings. "We sell everything from plain and fnney to the occasionol ridiculous. as well as fences. gales - with or without open­ers - spiral stairs, table bases. some furniture, and oddball fabrications," says Paul. One of the company's most memorable "oddball" JObs was fabri­cating the frame for a Cinderella (lumpk in buggy.

Like the shop and showroom. all

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Duke of Iron was featured in an article titled -Buildmg Your Dream Shop •.. which appeared in the March-April 1997 edition of Fabricator. Check it out online at: YfINW nomma,org.

olher aspects of the business are well organized. Both Paul and Dick give much of thc credit to the finn's effi­ciency to now-retired Renee, who instituted fiscal controls and discipline throughout the company, and provided a business plan and projections. '111is business would nol be here if not for her," Dick says.

For the company's future. more changes lie ahead. but lhat shouldn't be a problem for an organiullion that has so often turned challenges inlo opponunilics. At somc point. Paul intends to purchase the remaining pan of the business, thus allowing Dick to cnjoy a well-eamed re ti rement. Paul

would also like to diversity the finn by doing more commercial work. Already. the company has taken on some interesting commercial jobs, including an unusuul stainless job for a New York City bank that featured a mix of nal, round. and square bars. More reccntly, Duke oftron picked up a large stainless sleel pipe rai l job for a hotel aeross from thc famous Shea Stndium in Flushing. NY. According 10 Paul. the purchase of a pipe nOlcher during the METALfab trade show proved to be a real lifesaver for that project.

One question that customers sometimes ask is how the Duke oflron received its name. Dick smiles wben asked and snys he has a good friend th:n calls him thc Iron Duke, and the name stuck. The nickname originally eomL'S from the Dakc of Wcllington. the defeatcr of Napoleon at Watcrloo, who was also called thc Iron Duke.

Like the famous British gcner.i!, the Duke of Iron is II; company known for its resourcefulness. resilience, and peI'SCverancc. And, of course. both dukes are winners. e

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