From One Truck to $52 Million: How Collins Steel Mastered the Art of Strategic Succession
When Paul Collins founded Collins Steel in 1984 with a single welding truck, he faced 17-20% interest rates and the fresh memory of a previous business failure. Forty years later, his sons Ryan and Jason have orchestrated not one, but two successful ownership transitions—first acquiring the business themselves in 2012, then selling to their management team in 2017. Their journey from $5 million to $52 million in revenue reveals hard-won lessons about disciplined growth, strategic succession, and knowing when to let go.
The Foundation of Discipline
Collins Steel's success story begins with an unusual philosophy: pay cash for everything. This principle, forged in Paul's early business failure, became the bedrock of the company's growth strategy.
"Cash. Pay for things in cash. Don't take out loans," Jason Collins recalls as his father's most impactful advice. "He paid cash for land, for shops, for trucks, for everything, his houses, his cars. Never drove a flashy car."
This wasn't mere financial conservatism—it was strategic discipline born from necessity. Paul's first venture, Collins Welding, failed in 1983 partly due to crushing interest rates and an unsympathetic bank. The lesson stuck: financial independence meant freedom to make decisions based on business logic rather than debt obligations.
The Collins family embraced this philosophy completely. Ryan remembers his mother Karen's crucial role: "Every month she put money aside, and that allowed us to grow because we had something. She could buy land, invest in a shop, and new equipment."
Early Exposure, Deep Understanding
Both brothers began working in the family business as teenagers, but their father ensured they understood every aspect of operations before considering leadership roles. Jason started at 16 organizing bolts—hardly glamorous work, but part of a comprehensive education in the business.
"We worked at pretty much every level within the company, from labor to driving trucks to working in the shop, putting up buildings, working through the various departments," Jason explains. This hands-on experience proved invaluable: "We had an appreciation of the struggles that our employees would feel within the company that would be caused by our company."
By 2012, when the ownership transition occurred, both brothers had accumulated 17 years of experience across every department. They understood not just the technical aspects of steel fabrication, but the human dynamics that make or break operational efficiency.
The Ten-Year Succession Plan
The 2012 transition exemplified strategic succession planning. Rather than assuming the next generation would want to run the business indefinitely, the Collins family established clear expectations from the outset.
"When we bought the company, we had a pretty clear conversation about what our goal would be," Jason notes. "It would be like a 10-year horizon, and we'd be ready to sell within 10 years of buying it. And that was clear to my dad when we purchased it."
Paul Collins wasn't thrilled with this timeline—he had envisioned third-generation leadership. But the brothers recognized practical realities: "How do you ask [the next generation] for so much money to own something that they may or may not want and to wait for that?"
Instead, they committed to "encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in the third generation, encourage them to pursue their dreams, and if they want to turn them into businesses, we'll be there to guide and support and invest and help them along."
Balancing Family and Business
The buyout structure demonstrated sophisticated thinking about family dynamics. The brothers faced a complex challenge: acquiring a business from their father while ensuring fairness to their three siblings who weren't involved in operations.
Their solution was counterintuitive but elegant: "We had a valuation that gave three ranges of value, and we paid the max value so that we would never short change our siblings and their inheritance. And for that, we negotiated the best terms that could make that happen for us."
This approach—paying maximum valuation in exchange for favorable terms—ensured family harmony while making the transaction feasible for the acquiring brothers. The transparency extended throughout the process: "Being transparent and honest was the most important thing. And considering people that were outside of the deal, our siblings, our mom."
Operational Excellence Through Lean Principles
Under second-generation leadership, Collins Steel implemented Lean manufacturing principles that dramatically improved productivity. The results were striking: revenue grew from $5 million to $52 million without adding significant headcount.
However, the brothers learned that technology and process improvements mean little without cultural buy-in. "It's easy to get attracted to the principles that make sense in Lean," Ryan observes, "but there's a lot of different generations in the shop, different mindsets, different level of maybe adherence to some of these principles."
Their advice to other family businesses: "Focus on the communication up front with the team, and try to get a sense of what is the receptivity amongst the group overall, before trying to just implement these processes."
The Management Buyout
The 2017 transition to the management team followed the same principled approach as the family transition. The brothers wanted "to transition majority ownership" rather than retain controlling interests, recognizing that psychological ownership drives engagement.
"They took out a bank loan, they put in some equity. They took on the risk, similar to what we did when we bought it," Jason explains. The management team followed the Collins playbook: "After one year, they reduced a significant chunk of debt like we did."
This transition felt particularly satisfying because it honored longtime employees: "It just felt really good working with the management team and the guys that had put so much hard work into the organization for so many years."
Lessons for Business Families
Financial Discipline Creates Options: The Collins family's cash-only approach provided strategic flexibility unavailable to debt-laden competitors. While leverage can accelerate growth, financial independence enables better decision-making.
Succession Planning Requires Honesty: Rather than assuming the next generation would want to continue the family business, the Collins family established clear expectations and timelines. This transparency prevented misunderstandings and resentment.
Experience Every Level: Both brothers gained credibility and insight by working throughout the organization. This comprehensive understanding proved invaluable in leadership roles and when implementing process improvements.
Culture Beats Technology: Lean principles and new technologies delivered dramatic results, but only after careful attention to communication and employee buy-in. Process improvements fail without cultural acceptance.
Fair Doesn't Always Mean Equal: The buyout structure prioritized family relationships over strict equality, paying maximum valuation to ensure non-participating siblings felt fairly treated while structuring terms to make the transaction feasible.
The Legacy Continues
Today, Collins Steel operates under its third ownership group since Paul Collins started with that single truck. The management team continues the Collins tradition of disciplined growth and operational excellence.
Meanwhile, the Collins family legacy lives on through Collins Capital, a family office led by sister Kim Collins and her partner Tony. The third generation pursues their own entrepreneurial ventures with support from the family's accumulated wisdom.
The Collins Steel story demonstrates that successful family business transitions require strategic thinking, financial discipline, and the wisdom to know when letting go serves everyone's best interests.
Hear the full conversation with Jason and Ryan Collins on ABFI Table Talk, available on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe for insights from business family leaders navigating succession, governance, and strategic growth challenges.
