Entrepreneurial spirit and industry knowledge helps family business flourish for generations
When Nick Kuzmick borrowed money from his sister in 1956 to start Timco Rubber Products, he never imagined that the $50 she gave him to buy one wooden desk and rent office space would translate into 50 years of successful business.
Having worked for Colonial Rubber in Cleveland, Kuzmick and his business partner, Vince Goodpaster, knew there was success to be had in supplying high-quality custom molded, extruded, lathe-cut, and die cut rubber parts to original equipment manufacturers. They weren't wrong.
"I think they both had a good dose of post-World War II entrepreneurial spirit and plenty of knowledge in the rubber industry to create a successful business," said Jim Kuzmick, president of Timco Rubber. "But I don't think either of them could have predicted Timco's success."
Today, Timco Rubber is a multimillion dollar business and has expanded its capabilities to supply value-added services, such as light assembly and inventory programs to companies in multiple markets, including HVAC, appliance and Tier 2 automotive.
"We got our biggest boost during the advent of whole in-house HVAC systems back in the mid 1960's," said Bob Kuzmick, vice president of Timco Rubber. "Timco matured with the HVAC business and continued to branch out into many more applications within the HVAC business as it began to grow."\
Timco continues to evolve and has aligned itself to compete in today's global market. However, the long-standing business values of Timco's founders are paramount in day-to-day dealings.
"Building solid relationships with customers has always been at the heart of business at Timco," said Bob Kuzmick. "We continue to put an emphasis on the customer as the most important part of the Timco team."
At first glance, the Timco team seems to be made up of next-generation Kuzmicks, but in this family business, last names mean nothing.
"Nick Kuzmick believed in treating all employees with dignity and respect and that's no different today. Everyone has the opportunity to advance here, no matter what their name," said Joe Hoffman, vice president of operations at Timco Rubber.
From its days as a one-office facility on Euclid Avenue across from the old Cleveland Arena, Timco Rubber has moved twice and expanded three times. As construction of the latest expansion comes to an end, Timco is looking toward at least 50 more years of business. The company has updated its look and embraced the latest technology to keep up with current business trends.
"To mark our anniversary we created a new logo, and we are getting ready to launch a new Timco Rubber Web site with eCommunication capabilities," said John Kuzmick, vice president of finance at Timco Rubber. "Timco may have begun with two men at one wooden desk, but we've kept up with the times and developed into an international supplier of premier custom rubber parts."
About Timco Rubber: Headquartered at 12300 Sprecher Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio, Timco Rubber Products is a privately held company that specializes in supplying customers with single-source solutions for high-quality, high-performing rubber products. Working directly with customers, Timco's experts develop a wide variety of custom-engineered molded, extruded, die-cut and lathe-cut rubber products. Timco also maintains sales offices in Dayton, Ohio and Houston, Texas.
