Business View Magazine | June 2019

147 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 THOMPSON’ S WELDING SERV I CES , INC . welding and fabrication service. Not only do they use the cranes for current projects, they’re also building a customer list for crane work only. So, NexGen works alongside TWS on some projects, and on separate work for the cranes. There are several avenues for growth with specialty rigging and crane customers. Looking ahead, Ken says, “On the TWS side, the objective is to continue providing quality service to our current customers, while increasing our footprint in the pressure vessel fabrication sector. We try to keep our website updated and informative and we want to generate more business via that platform. Currently, most new business is generated through word of mouth or links to our existing customers. That’s an area we could be more aggressive in – our online presence. “My dad has done a remarkable job of delegating responsibility, and authority, and decision making for many years,” Ken notes. “I’ve been quoting and bidding jobs since my early 20s, with his oversight, but was given latitude. It seemed easy to me, then, that Dad would relinquish responsibilities and I’m starting to see now that’s not quite as easy as he made it look. Today, my daughter works in the front office, and my two sons are involved in helping to manage crews and are both certified pipe welders. So, I’m learning. Barry’s son works alongside him, helping with financial strategies, and played a major role in getting NexGen Crane & Rigging up & running. Barry’s son-in-law is a Quality Control Engineer. So, the third generation is here and working. We are very fortunate that our father (Bill) gets to see the involvement of the 3rd generation in the family business.”