Engineer Bounces Back From Lay Off | Mark Fisher took a negative and turned it into a business
PHOTO/AMANDA ROBERGE
CUSTOMER FOCUSED: Mark Fisher was able to buy Merchant's Fabrication in Auburn thanks to special government loan program.
Mark Fisher insists that he and his small staff at Merchant’s Fabrication Inc. in Auburn generally have no idea what they are making in the shop. They receive the mechanical draft, operate the machinery and quickly get it shipped out to the client. Period.
But for a guy making that claim, he seems to be quite invested in where his pieces are coming from, what they do and where they are headed. Fisher can describe with some degree of passion and an impressive amount of knowledge exactly in what kind of structure or machine each piece of metal being worked on belongs. It’s that attention to detail that keeps his customers coming back, and better yet, participating in word-of-mouth marketing, recommending Merchant’s to others.
Timed Delivery
In an industry where the lowest bidder often wins, Fisher has his own ideas about what is important to his customers.
“We are competitive on quality, and we are not the lowest in cost,” he said. “But it’s our quick turnaround that we’re known for.”
When Fisher lands a job — whether it’s a two-ton beam that needs pieces fabricated and welded so that it can be re-installed, or whether it’s a bicycled-shaped metal cut-out no bigger than a quarter — his shop gets right down to business. Jobs are accepted, completed and shipped out with speed and accuracy, which is no small thing to the clients that need a quality service performed quickly and are willing to pay the price.
“We’re booked, at this point, into next February,” he said, adding that his four-man staff will soon begin to grow — a sincere relief after a rough 2009 where it only took a staff of two to keep operations in check.
In fact, Fisher is taking advantage of the struggling economy by purchasing advanced technologies and equipment while the market favors the buyer. From an $87,000, 225-ton, CNC 5-axis Press Brake to a new truck for deliveries, Fisher is keen enough to know that the time is ripe for stocking up on the things that will help him flourish in the very near future.
Merchant’s Fabrication has been around since the late 1960s, owned at one point by Jim Merchant with a home base of operations in Worcester. In 2008, the business went up for sale and was under the ownership of a broker for a short stint — which is when the shop caught Fisher’s eye. Having worked in the design engineering field for Raytheon and more recently, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based firm Parkinson Technologies, he was laid off and began his search for the next phase of his career within hours. As luck would have it, his difficulty in securing a small business loan was reversed when the government instituted a stimulation plan that would guarantee the bank up to 90 percent of the loan in the case that the business failed. Fisher quickly went from being turned away by every bank in Massachusetts to having them compete for his loan. And his life as a small business owner began.
In his short time at the helm, Fisher has acquired some high-profile clients, including Keurig and Terrafugia — a new vehicle that is road-worthy and also functions as an aircraft.
Being part of an industry like Terrafugia scratches Fisher’s itch to be technologically involved and relevant. The Visual EstiTrack software that he uses to quote potential clients is what he describes as “incredibly sophisticated” and he estimates that the software alone will keep him on the cutting edge of the metal fabrication industry for years to come.
Keeping current, as Fisher sees it, is the way to secure his status in the metal fabrication marketplace.
“You have to stay competitive,” he said. “If you don’t, you’re not going to last.”
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