Hardware Podcasts

Quality, Resilience and Open-Mindedness: Winning the Long Game w/ Paul Lordan and John Lordan

The Manufacturing Executive · 18 Feb 2025 · 38m · Episode 245

What this episode covers

Paul and John Lordan, co-owners of Steele Canvas Basket, discuss how their 100-year-old Massachusetts manufacturer survived economic shifts by prioritizing quality, resilience, and community over cost-cutting. They detail the transition from local suppliers to complex global supply chains, including sourcing wheels from China and vinyl from South Korea, while maintaining final assembly in the US. The brothers explain how the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to pivot into new markets, such as retail display baskets and PPE, proving that open-mindedness and refusing to say 'no' to unconventional projects were key to their long-term survival.

Most relevant to

established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Steele Canvas Basket, Gorilla 76, Guerrilla 76
Also
Industrial Marketing Summit

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