Business & Professional
Fatherly Influence
In dedicating office building, Gene Goodman remembers his father,
who founded stamping firm housed there.
Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News
very time 36-year-old
Gene Goodman of West
Bloomfield walks in to
work, he pays a silent tribute to
his dad.
William M. Goodman, the
founder of Versatube Stamping
Corporation in Troy, died sud-
denly on Aug. 10, 2002, at the age
of 72. At that moment, the 49-
year-old business passed l'dor
v'dor, from generation to genera-
tion.
"I always knew I'd have to rise
to the top at some point:' said
Gene. "It's the only thing I've ever
known:'
The younger Goodman took
control of the company and
made his first order of business
fulfilling one of his father's life-
long dreams — to build a new
headquarters for the company.
Gene oversaw the design and
construction of the 30,000-
square-foot William M.
Goodman office building in Troy,
which was dedicated in August
on the third anniversary of
Goodman's death.
"It was my way of paying hom-
age to him:' Gene said. "He
taught me so much in life, I fig-
ured I at least owed him some-
thing:'
William Goodman started
Versatube in 1956, making muf-
flers and flexible tubing for the
Big Three auto companies.
Starting with only five machines,
he seized the opportunity to
expand into metal stamping and
quickly started churning out car
hoods, doors and paneling.
In 1970, Versatube had 20
employees, but steadily grew into
a 200-employee, 70-machine
operation with more than $50
million in sales by the year 2000.
Then, the economy turned
south and business shrank. Gene
says his father's business philos-
ophy of maintaining a "lean,
debt-free company" helped them
through.
E
November 3 . 2005
"We've streamlined everything
now — one positive we have is
that we own our property,
machinery and buildings out-
right," Gene said. "My father situ-
ated it so we could survive bad
economies and I appreciate that
he did that."
The company currently
employs 60 people and has about
$20 million in annual sales.
Coming from a line of busi-
nessmen (Gene's grandfather
was in the clothing business
from the1920s through
the1940s), Gene was able to pick
up where his father left off. But
even his mother admits that he
had some pretty big shoes to
"Bill was from a different gen-
eration — a different kind of a
business person. You don't really
meet that kind today:' said
Sandra Goodman.
"From nothing, he built the
business and he was wonderful
to his employees: she said. "This
is not the time for automotive
right now; but, in spite of it, Gene
has just amazed me:' she added.
Gene officially joined the pay-
roll of Versatube in 1990 after
graduating from Northwood
University in Midland. He
worked closely with his dad,
learning the ins and outs of the
business. "I learned by listen-
ing," he said.
The young CEO has taken
what he learned and is now
steering the business in some
new directions, expanding into
metal roof shingles, office furni-
ture and other markets.
"Our strategy is to maintain
ourselves; we're not in a growth
mode right now',' he said.
The company also hopes to
lease out 22,000 square feet of
office space in its new headquar-
ters on Rochester Road, just
south of Long Lake Road.
Sandra Goodman is watching
with pride and says her late hus-
band also would have been
proud. "What can a mother say?
You just sort of sit back and kvell
[take delight]."
Gene Goodman, in front of the William M. Goodman
office building in Troy, often brings his dog Bud to work.
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