Ring Masters
240 6th St. N.W.
Massillon, Ohio 44647
Posted on 03/01/2012 10:53:55 AM PST by iowamark
Tony Lee always dreamed of owning his own business and sending his kids to college. Today, he's co-owner of Ring Masters, a company that makes engine rings for industrial use...
In 2002, Eaton started shutting down divisions of the factory, one by one. Soon over 1000 workers were down to just 35 in Tony's division, which was slated to be closed at the end of 2002.
But Tony refused to let the factory die. He spent hours at night in the local public library studying. Despite never going to college, much less business school, Tony wrote a business plan detailing how his factory could survive and prosper.
Against all odds, he convinced a group of investors to buy the factory and keep it running. Members of the investor group and Tony's co-workers all say they were inspired by Tony's leadership, passion for the business and drive to keep it alive. Everyone, it seemed, was rooting for Tony to succeed.
But there was one big catch: The investors wanted Tony to have some "skin in the game," so he had to raise $25,000 to purchase a stake in the factory.
For Tony, this was just one more obstacle to overcome. After taking a second mortgage on his house, selling his motorcycle and literally scrounging for loose change, Tony had the money and was in on the deal. Actually he was "all in;" failure was not an option for Tony.
Now, 9 years later, Ring Masters is a thriving business with over $4 million in annual sales. From 15 workers at the start, the company now has over 20 employees, a growing list of clients and plans for further expansion.
Tony says he's recouped his $25,000 investment "several times over" and is now a co-owner of a growing business...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ring Masters
240 6th St. N.W.
Massillon, Ohio 44647
awesome! way to go tony!
Hope it's all private monies......
perfect example of what makes America great!
Tony must be one of those folks that the administration claims, got rich by taking advantage of those less fortunate than himself.
I think Tony created more jobs than the current administration has.
It’s probably a good thing he DIDN’T go to college and B-school. It may have made him too stupid to get this ambition of his off the ground.
A successful American?.....Obama must put a stop to this.........and he will.............
The only way Yahoo could spin this story is that he was doing it all “to save his co-workers jobs.”
He sounds like a damn, exploiting 1%’er to me - tax the hell out of him!
Way to go man!
How dare he succeed!
I’m proud of Tony
I work at a large plant scheduled to shut down in about a year. I have lined up a new manufacturer who can utilize all the equipment in place for a different use which in no way competes with the other division products within the company.
Management informed me they would rather scrap all the machinery for the loss than to sell it and the facility to someone else. The someone else would also have kept most of the machine operators after some retraining. Management is spending most of their time trying to transfer to sister divisions.
I guess you need an MBA from Wharton to understand the logic.
Scientists have calculated that aerodynamics should prevent bumblebees from flying. However, they have never informed the bumblebee of their dire prediction. Therefore, the bumblebee just keeps flying along.
Way to go Tony! You represent the spirit that makes America the greatest nation on Earth. Failure is not an option!
Regards,
GtG
If he has as much common sense as he seems to have, he probably votes republican too.
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