Imagine starting a business, but really not knowing the basics of the business you’re starting.
For one Onaway man it was something he dreamed of as a kid, and he made it happen.
“I just love it, I love what I do. I love coming to work, I love solving problems and I love moving forward, that’s just me,” said Tom Moran of Moran Iron Works.
If you’ve ever driven through Onaway, it’s hard to miss . It’s been on this site for four decades now, all because of a lot of drive and passion from owner and founder Tom Moran.
“When I was young I always knew I would work with my hands, I was just not academically oriented. I just didn’t read, and I didn’t write very much. It’s not that I couldn’t, reading just aggravated me,” explained Tom.
Tom’s favorite class? Shop.
“I always looked up to welders, they were always doing something mysterious underneath that mask,” said Tom.
During high school it got to the point where Tom was fixing desks, scoreboards and other things the school needed welded, but he knew nothing about welding.
“I didn’t know how to weld, I had none of the fundamentals, no training whatsoever. I didn’t even know what the numbers on the welding rods meant, or even how to properly light a torch,” explained Tom.
It was only after he started his welding business in 1978 when he actually started to learn the trade from the people he hired.
“It only came from me getting to the point of hiring people that knew something about welding. They would question me like, ‘Why are you doing things like that?’ I would say, ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Why are you welding with low hydrogen rods on straight polarity?’ And I would say, ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t even know what straight polarity was,” said Tom.
Sometimes being a leader means listening.
“I think in order to be a good leader you have to be able to take orders, to give orders. The first 40 years was just sheer determination, not a lot else.”
From a little shack in 1978…
“Those were tough days. We didn’t have a bathroom here when we started, and then when we did get your own water from the ditch to flush the toilet, so we’ve come a long ways on this piece of property.”
… to a multi-million dollar welding and fabricating company, an industrial arts school and a park, all in Onaway, Michigan.
“I’ve never had a doubt, not ever, not even one time. Was it tough? Did I go broke or did I come close to going broke? A dozen times, absolutely. But you learn how to survive in business if you really want it, and you really want to maintain a business in a remote area northern Michigan you do whatever it takes to succeed,” explained Tom.
Next Friday Moran Iron Works is having an open house to celebrate its 40th anniversary. You’ll be able to tour the facility and even get a free lunch and, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to meet the man behind it all.
“I love what I do and I plan on being here until I’m close to drawing my last breath, hopefully,” said Tom.
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