Industrial electrician Robert Braun
happily brings his work home with him.
SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
terests long before he
"I work with metal all the time,
finished high school, and I have the equipment," Mr.
learned technical skills Braun said.
in classes as well as on
While Mr. Braun was crafting
the job and established the table, he made unanticipat-
Braun Electric 10 years ed changes. Some were based on
ago.
the way the table was turning out
The idea for the fur- structurally; others were based
nishings came after Mr. on the way the table looked at dif-
Braun and his wife, ferent stages.
Karen, decided to do
For instance, he decided
some home remodeling. against big brass bolts that had
A friend and interior been part of the original design
designer, Dean Ladas, simply because he liked the dean
THE DETRO IT JEWISH NEWS
Robert Braun and his daughter Leah show off the bannister he crafted.
38
obert Braun has more than pipe
dreams, but he has those, too. An
industrial electrician specializing
in explosion-proof wiring, Mr.
Braun recently began thinking
about ways to mold pipes, metal
and other work materials into
decorative furnishings.
Mr. Braun's initial projects —
a dining room table, bannister
and wall unit — sit in his home,
where visitors have inquired
about getting similar items.
Those inquiries have motivated
him to explore marketing oppor-
tunities for his designs.
"Although I like what I do for
my business, there are times
when I think I would like some-
thing a little different," said Mr.
Braun, who set aside artistic in-
Mr. Braun's dining room table.
planned their kitchen (which Mr.
Braun completed) and went on to
design a dining-room table.
"He drew a design very simi-
lar to what we now have," said
Mr. Braun, who was confident
from the outset that he could
build the metal-and-glass unit
with the same kinds of compo-
nents and skills required every
day on his job.
appearance without them.
Mr. Braun, who maintains an
office in his West Bloomfield
home to do the paperwork asso-
ciated with his business, has two
employees assisting him at oil re-
fineries, paint factories, chemical
plants and other commercial en-
vironments processing flamma-
ble and corrosive substances.
Using equipment and supplies
.
stored in a large trailer that can
be moved from one job site to an-
other, staff members enclose any-
thing that creates a spark or
produces a great deal of heat in
approved fittings and pipes. On
occasion, they wear full-body pro-
tective suits with respirators.
"When I first started working
as an electrician for other con-
tractors, I did some work in oil re-
fineries," said Mr. Braun, who
received his early training at Oak
Park High School and went on to
study through union and manu-
facturers programs.
"It didn't appear difficult to me
because we took precautions with
meters and machinery that can
sense explosive gases in the air,"
he said.
Feeling comfortable about the
safety measures and realizing
that there was limited competi-
tion in this field, Mr. Braun de-
cided on his professional niche
when he was ready to start his
own firm.
"The materials we work with
are heavier than the usual prod-
ucts commercial electricians use
and must be mounted more se-
curely," he said.
"Because of the added weight,
the work goes more slowly, and
we find that both the materials
and labor are more costly than
what is found in less-hazardous
environments."
While some of his work is billed
on a contract basis, other projects
are according to materials and
time. That's the system Mr.
Braun plans to put in place if he
is able to sell his furnishings.
"At first, I thought I could do
the pieces on a production basis,
but after talking with people in
that business, I think individual
projects would work out better,"
said Mr. Braun, who predicts a
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