The Welders' Supply Co. Successfully Rides the Crest of Change
[excerpt]

Pete Nofel, Editor

Keeping the customer first while anticipating changing economics is the formula for success for Bard and Jeff Fountain

"Call it 'Brad and Jeff's Big Adventure,' or, 'The Masters of Flexibility,' " Brad Fountain's deadpan delivery disguises the sharp sense of humor that lies under the surface. Fountain is the president of The Welders' Supply Co., Baltimore, Md., and while he may joke about his position in the company, he's dead serious when it comes to WSC.

75 Years of Service
William Carr started WSC in 1921, with partner Paul Lanman, as a welding hardware business, selling torches, regulators, and other apparatus.

Brad's father, Harry Fountain, joined the company in 1938. He worked in the warehouse and ran errands. Harry didn't remain a "gofer" for long. In 1955 he bought Carr's portion of the business and was co-owner with Lanman until Lanman's death in 1972 when Fountain took over full ownership. It's remained a family-owned and operated business partnership. Brad and his brother Jeff worked in the business since they were children.

"We both started out in the warehouse when we were 10. We decided that we wouldn't file suit against my father under child labor laws," Brad said with only a hint that he was joking.

Growing up in the business exposed them to all of the company's operations.

"We drove trucks, painted cylinders, and rolled cylinders. We both went to college and came back to the business," Fountain said.

"It definitely was not a silver-spoon operation. Harry was a tough boss and strong businessman. His philosophy was, 'You don't get what you don't work for.' So we worked then and we're working now."

Brad joined WSC full-time in 1071 and Jeff joined in 1981. Brad took over the presidency and Jeff the vice presidency when their father Harry retired in 1989. the company's headquarters has been in the same location for 75 years, despite Baltimore's insistence on running a new street through the middle of the business' location.

WSC now has two drop stations along with their main location in the middle of Baltimore: one in the western part of the city and the other in the northeastern section of Baltimore.

"Because of demographics and the highway system we're able to get from here to Gaithersburg, Washington, D.C., the Virginia area, and up to Pennsylvania – Aberdeen and other areas – on regular daily routes without adding additional stores," Brad said. "This is a good central location."

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