# Resilience Over Four Generations of a Family-Owned Manufacturing Business w/ Melanie White

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2025-04-15
- Length: 34m
- Episode: 253
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-ec218d56-cbdb-4154-8edc-033c45398b31

## Summary

Melanie White, the fourth-generation CEO of Hellwig Products, discusses the resilience of her 79-year-old family-owned manufacturer of helper springs and sway bars. She details how the company navigated the labor shortages and supply chain volatility of the COVID era by implementing strict shift protocols and shifting from temp agencies to direct hiring. White also addresses the current impact of steel tariffs, which have driven material costs up by 35%, and explains how the company is managing pricing strategies while adapting to shifts in the automotive aftermarket toward hybrids and EVs.

## Chapters

- [0:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela#t=38) Introduction: Melanie White and Hellwig Products History
- [8:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela#t=480) Navigating COVID: Operations, Labor, and Supply Chain
- [15:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela#t=953) Steel Tariffs and Pricing Strategy
- [23:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela#t=1395) Automotive Industry Trends: EVs, Hybrids, and Talent
- [31:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela#t=1903) Leadership Advice: Evolution and Decisiveness

## Topics

- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Hellwig Products (company)
- SEMA (company)
- Gorilla 76 (company)
- Tesla (product)
- Cal OSHA (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

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- [#190 - Tariffs 2.0:  Hotpot Queen, Fila Manila & Circle Beverage](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-04-07-190-tariffs-2-0-hotpot-queen-fila-manila-circle-beverage) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [245: A Grassroots Approach to Shaping the Future of American Industry with Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [The State of Manufacturing: Resilience in Uncertain Times with Willem Sundblad](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-02-07-the-state-of-manufacturing-resilience-in-uncertain-times-with-willem-sundblad) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [BONUS - What's the SCOOP - 2022 Trends with Season Group's Carl Hung](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2021-12-21-bonus-whats-the-scoop-2022-trends-with-season-groups-carl-hung) (EMS@C-LEVEL)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-04-15-resilience-over-four-generations-of-a-family-owned-manufacturing-business-w-mela. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Manufacturing Executive.