Firm logs half-century of metal manufacturing
Mead Metals President John Allyn said business is good enough at the 34-employee firm that sales should set a record this year at close to $25 million. Mead components are now found in end products in the automotive, telecommunications, munitions, medical electronics and even fishing lure industries. Wide-ranging examples of those products: washers for nuts and bolts and motherboards for ATM machines.
Allyn attributed Mead's longevity to its service and "willingness to carry inventory for customers.
"(The challenge) is to adapt yourself to the ebbs and flows of economic conditions," he said. "The reward has been to see us succeed and grow."
According to Mead PR representative Richard L. Parrish, the company was founded in 1961 in a small Minneapolis warehouse by Bruce Osborne ___ and another entrepreneur who inventoried metals that were resold to manufacturers and fabricators. Company lore says they named the company after the honey-based wine, mead, they were drinking in a meeting at the time.
After many fits and starts, the founders realized they couldn't compete with larger companies that stocked huge rolls of steel, copper and other metals. That's when they got into a niche market for small quantities of metals needed by certain regional companies. In their favor, Allyn said: Demand in the area wasn't and still isn't major enough to attract larger copper, brass and steel manufacturers. The company moved from Minneapolis to Shoreview in 1976.
These days, 75 percent of Mead's sales come from the seven-county metro area; 20 percent come from elsewhere across the U.S. and 5 percent come from overseas.
The firm has also added new metals and services including slitting, cutting, edge rolling and shearing for its approximately 1,000 customers. The privately held company hovered around $4 million in sales for years, Parrish said, until it was bought by Allyn, company chairman Jon Holt and two other shareholders in 1993. The original founders died some years ago.
"Jon had the vision and saw it (Mead) could be grown significantly in short order," noted Allyn of the company purchase.
Mead , located at 555 Cardigan Rd., is now one of the largest providers of small quantities of metals and the third-largest supplier of beryllium copper in the nation, Parrish said. It was ISO 9000-certified in 1998 and every year since. In 1999, it more than doubled its square footage from 24,000 to 49,000.
"I have found the city to be very cooperative," Allyn said of that construction project. "With every issue there is in real estate and city and zoning regulations, I found the city was very supportive of what we wanted to do. Therefore, we made the decision to stay here as opposed to buying more land further out."
Allyn, a Plymouth resident who was formerly vice president of operations at Despatch Industries in Lakeville, said Mead has adapted to increased demand for electrically conducive metals such as copper, bronze, and beryllium copper. It has also adjusted to the demand for smaller pieces because of a trend toward miniaturization.
He said the firm's five-year plan calls for growth of the base business and expansion, possibly into new markets. Mead just added three employees in the past 90 days but has no immediate plans to hire more.
Shoreview Mayor Sandy Martin declared Sept. 22 "Mead Metals Appreciation Day" and presented a plaque in honor of the company's anniversary.
