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A Few Good Men

The third-generation of Eaton Steel has been taking notes from
his elders on more than how to run the family business.

BOB ROSSBACH

By Lynne Konstantin

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Eaton Steel
10221 Capital St.
Oak Park, MI
(248) 398-3434
www.eatonsteel.com

W

hen our father died,” Mark
Goodman says, “there
were four people at the
shivah I didn’t know.
I introduced myself and asked their
involvement with my dad. Each one told
me that my father had put them through
college.
“And my mother never knew.”
From the Torah and Maimonides to
modern philanthropic foundations,
tzedakah — giving aid to the needy or
worthwhile causes — is an integral part
of Jewish life. And, Judaism teaches the
belief that donors benefit from tzedakah
as much or more than the recipients.
For the Goodman family, this is a way
of life.
Mark and Gary Goodman’s father,
Albert (Al) Goodman, founded Eaton
Steel Bar Co. in 1953. During WWII, Al
had been a metallurgist for Ford Motor
Co.; after the war, he began buying
leftover steel from one factory and sell-
ing it to another from the back room
of the family’s sporting goods store in
Downtown Detroit.

Al and his brother, Ozzie. ran the busi-
ness while their father, Joe, helped in the
office. Today, the company continues to
thrive and grow under the helm of Al’s
sons, Mark and Gary, who are co-CEOs,
and Mark’s son, Jeff, who is president and
a metallurgical engineer.
Throughout Al’s tenure, even while
still growing his company, he was always
looking out for others — in part to help
his business, but primarily because it was
the right thing to do.
“My grandfather taught my dad and
uncle a lot of things,” Jeff says. “Small
things, but important. I would hear sto-
ries of him buying his employees tires so
they could get to work. He’d give them
money if they’d quit smoking cigarettes.
And we try to follow his lead.”
The third-generation family business
now operates as an integrated supplier
of special bar-quality steel as well as pro-
ducing its own steel. Based in Oak Park,
Eaton Steel has grown to more than 300
employees working for seven main com-
panies, including Hercules Drawn Steel
Corp., Apollo Heat Treating & Processing,
Atlas Trucking, Atlas Logistics and Titan
Metallurgy.
“It’s gotten big, but it’s small enough
that we can operate with the set of values
and the family atmosphere that we think
is important,” Jeff says. In a recent expan-
sion, the company added a 5,000-square-
foot health club and wellness center
replete with trainers, Zumba and yoga
classes, showers and more.
“We expect our people to be account-
able,” Jeff says, “but if they make a mis-
take, we try to assess what they need —
whether it’s training that we provide or
something else.
“We live in the real world,” he says. “All
of our employees have families, there are
illnesses — things that pop up in life. If
you have a family crisis, you have to take
care of that, and we will take care of you.”
Likely because of the “family atmo-
sphere” the company’s owners work
hard to perpetuate, there is a low rate of
employee turnover. “I’m 40 years old,” Jeff
says. “It’s humbling to work with people
who have been with the company longer
than I’ve been alive.”
The company also offers a pension
and profit-sharing, allowing employees
to “walk away with large sums of money,”
Jeff says. “It’s very gratifying to us to have
someone who has given all those years of
service be able to retire with dignity and
financial security.”
Staying ahead of the times also is a
priority. “We have an intern program;
we go to different colleges,” Gary says.

“We are always looking for people with
fresh skills. We try to figure out where the
future is taking us, and how to embrace it.”
In an extremely competitive busi-
ness, Mark and Gary had the foresight
to ensure Eaton had commodities that
set them apart. “As we grew and made
money, we reinvested in ourselves,” Mark
says. “We insisted on the finest manufac-
turing products we could buy. We are try-
ing to add value to everything we sell.”
“And every time we do that, something
that’s new for us, there’s risk involved,”
Jeff says. “Part of running the company,
of being entrepreneurial, is being afraid
but doing it anyway.”
The family’s philosophy of tikkun olam
(repairing the world) extends beyond
the walls of Eaton Steel. The entire
extended Goodman family have been
longtime members of Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield, where they have set
up a college fund that assists for four
years of college, provided grades are
maintained. The family also contributes
to Magen David Adam, Israel’s national
medical, emergency and ambulance ser-
vice, as well as the Friends of the Israel
Defense Forces, the Holocaust Memorial
Center, the Chesed Project, Hebrew Free
Loan, Jewish Vocational Service, Detroit
Institute of Arts, Detroit Zoo, Detroit
Symphony Orchestra and Michigan
Humane Society.
“That’s our attitude toward being
human beings,” Mark says. “We are not
isolated. We don’t live in a bubble.”
Adds his son, “It’s nice to be able to be
in the position of giving philanthropi-
cally. But it comes off of decades of hard
work. I’m proud of the great things we do
now, but it’s only possible because of all
the Saturdays and late hours and stress
that my father, uncle and grandfather
have put in.
“My grandfather started with noth-
ing,” Jeff says. “He, my dad and my uncle
worked like animals. I saw it — my favor-
ite thing when I was a kid was going to
work with them on Saturdays. I’d watch
them build relationships with customers.”
The same priority the family places
on real customer service is the intrinsic
value placed on employees, the commu-
nity and beyond.
“We always encourage people to con-
tinue their education, and we contribute
financially,” Gary says. “We don’t ask for
an employee agreement. Like our father
always said, you’re giving a person the
ability to solve problems — whether for
us or not, you’re participating in tikkun
olam. You’ve done a mitzvah to make
their life better.” Y

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July 18 • 2017

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