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Need some ideas

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
My kid is down in WPB, Florida. Long story short, he went down to work with the Miss Geico Racing Team, ended up starting his own business.

He's been starting it up for about 5 years now, always having work for somebody always available so he could make money. At 26, he's a true craftsman.

He builds custom exhausts for exotic cars - Lambos, Ferraris, R8, Porsche, etc. He sold maybe 50 systems/parts last year. Doesn't sound like much, but these things are in the $2k-$4k range each.

He also was given a contract with a Porsche cup car race team and parts reseller, making full exhausts for the race cars, 60 a year.

He also has a contract with a custom car manufacturer to build complete chassis for the cars. They want "as many as he can build". But I am guessing 52 a year.

And now one of the largest lambo dealers is going to be spotlighting his exhaust systems and components on their showroom floor.

A couple of examples of his work are in the pix below.

He's working himself to death; 15 hour days, 7 days a week for the most part. One of his buddies is leaving California to work for my kid, but he's a fabricator/machinist/fitter, not a TIG welder. Having him though will free my kid up to just weld, while his buddy does the fitting work. Notice, no bullshit filler rod welding - everything is fit to weld.The welds need to be pretty; these exotic guys do not want polished welds.

So here's the deal - he needs somebody to learn how to weld like this. He's afraid to hire a 3rd guy - he's afraid the work will run out. I suggested he contact the local high schools in the area to see if somebody wanted to "intern" with him. He likes the idea, because that is how he got started - the owner at a high-end fab shop near our place in Michigan gave him a chance and they taught him everything from machining, to programming to welding. DOD, Nuclear, exotic metals, medical etc.

But then again, those days of high school indutrial arts are just about dead and he nor I believe there's anything down there.

Anybody have any ideas? He does not want to hire another $25/hr guy right now until he feels comfortable with all the work finally coming his way. He knows if he find the right guy, he's going to have to pay 35 bucks or more and hour, but he does not want to commit to a pro right now. He knows where to find these guys - dairy welders, or just about any food plant stainless tubing welder.

What other talent pools are there? Any ideas on how to find a young guy or girl that wants to learn? My kid also says he really wants to help others out like he was helped.
 

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Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
I've always considered my self a pretty good tig welder how ever I work with aluminum and am self taught stainless I hear requires some different techniques to keep it from crystalizing on the back side . one place he might look is at a tank truck fab shop there should be quite a few in the Texas area with all the oil being refined there. if the facility has a ct number to repair tanks to 406 specs they will have some good welders. we had a guy come out of Seattle could make mig welds look that good
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
One word .
Hobart school of welding in Ohio . They turn out some amazing welders
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Another place he could look are the guys that used to build frames for dragster motorbikes. I have a buddy who built the frames that 5 world champions rode on. He is the best friggin' welder that I have ever seen and I spent my life dealing with oilfield welders. The recession hit that sector of the sport very hard. There are probably quite a few who might be interested in a regular paycheck.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I like the Hobart School idea - I am sending them an email as soon as I find their site.

Frank - any contacts? Does your buddy know of anybody? Where my kid is, anybody with any sort of skill is hired and working. It's amazing the money in West Palm Beach.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Frank - any contacts? Does your buddy know of anybody? Where my kid is, anybody with any sort of skill is hired and working. It's amazing the money in West Palm Beach.

I don't know. My friend closed down his business because things got so tough and moved back to Dallas to take a regular job for regular pay. He's coming back down to go shooting with us this weekend. I'll ask him if he knows of anyone who might be looking.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I contacted Hobart and a lady, "Marty", is going to go around and ask some instructors if they have any interested talented students.

And thanks Frank ahead of time for asking your buddy.
 

Adillo303

Diesel Truck Fan
GOLD Site Supporter
Why a kid? How about a veteran? How about a retired welder looking for a little work?
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
There's nothing wrong with vets and retiree's, except - pay.

IF he could find a retired welder that knows how to do TIG welding to at least an AWS D18.1 standard for around 15 bucks an hour starting, he'd jump through hoops. He's tried. Can't find a moonlighter or a retired welder in the area. Not even one that doesn't know how to TIG weld.

If you know of somebody in the WPB area that fits the bill - knows how to make a basic TIG weld and is willing to learn the art of fine welding, and be involved with exotic cars and their owners, and make just a little bit of money for now, let me know. Does not have to be a kid; it can be a vet, a retired person, a moonlighter, anything, but needs to be trustworthy and not a drug or alcohol user. Appearance is alot with the people he deals with. The person he hires needs to be on their game.

The thought of a hiring kid is because of what my son thinks he can afford right now, the fact that a kid would probably be living at home and could afford a $15/hr job, and the fact that if all the business doesn't pan out, at least the person he hires has learned a skill, isn't tied down, and can easily take the loss of a job and move on.

Personally, I've attempted to have my son bite the bullet and hire a pro, but he's concerned that the pro will be a family man and could not take a job loss if something happened with the business. $40 an hour and have somebody that can walk in and get right to work makes a lot of sense to me. But he's cautious. I'm not going to push it.

My kid doesn't get it yet - he is a true craftsman, has a work ethic beyond belief, is a great saleman, and he will be very successful. His business isn't going anywhere but growing and he needs to be prepared to have capacity.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Update:
The ladies at the Hobart school had a student contact me. Turns out he's starting his own custom bike shop in Lauderdale and was wondering if Kevin wanted to farm out any work. Declined - all work stays in-house and under control of son.

Contacted the ladies today and they have a young guy that's graduating in 3 weeks that will be put in contact with us.

Any other leads would be appreciarted.
 
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