Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 24, 2025 19 FOCUS | MANUFACTURING 'They trust me' He accomplished that goal, which led to a promotion to general management, then to overseeing operations in the Northeast, to vice president and then to president of Ulbrich's Service Center Group. Then came 2019. "My dad and I, we sat down as a family business with my two uncles and we said, 'Okay, third generation is going to fourth. What's our plan?'" Ulbrich said he believes succes- sion planning is something his family has done really well. "I didn't come from college at 23 years old into a VP position," he said. "I've earned my stripes. So, I've got great relationships with all my coworkers here. I trust them. They trust me." When his father became chairman of the board on Jan. 1, he had completed 47 years with Ulbrich, including 22 as CEO. Chris Ulbrich rounded out his CEO career with two acquisitions. On Nov. 6, Ulbrich acquired ATI Inc.'s precision rolled strip opera- tions in New Bedford, Mass., and Remscheid, Germany. The New Bedford facility was renamed Ulbrich Precision Alloys, while the German facility became Ulbrich Europe Metals. Two weeks later, Ulbrich acquired a specialty wire facility in Hardt, Germany, from Bruker-Spaleck GmbH. Jon Ulbrich said the acquisitions were the first in about 25 years. "We don't buy a lot of companies that often, mainly because we're not trying to buy 'me too' places," he said. "If a competitor came up (for sale) that does exactly what we do, we probably wouldn't be interested. It has to be a little different than what we already bring to the marketplace to expand our offering." The future Ulbrich is optimistic about the compa- ny's future, even with the Trump admin- istration imposing tariffs, including recently threatening to double tariffs on Canadian steel imports to 50%. "It's a mixed bag," Ulbrich said of tariffs. While they increase prices, they also provide some protection from dumping, which is when a company or country exports products to another country at a price that is lower than its domestic market price or cost of production. China and India "are horrible offenders" of dumping in the preci- sion split wire market, Ulbrich said. "Europe adopts strategies to combat China, which typically means lowering the price," he said. "So, we need protec- tion. When you have a whole industry that's subsidized by a government like the steel industry is, you need some kind of regulation in the U.S. to at least create a balanced playing field." Regardless, his vision for future growth includes continuing to invest in Ulbrich's capabilities. "I think it's a combination of organic and inorganic strategies," he said. That includes buying new equipment and continuing to "grow our portfolio within our business strategy." Ulbrich adds that while he is one of 12 members of his family's fourth generation, he is the only one that works in the company. He has two brothers and a sister, but they all "do their own thing," he said. The same is true of his cousins. Ulbrich has a wife and two children, a 14-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy, so he's a long way from thinking about his successor, he adds. "We've got a bright future," Ulbrich said. "In my position now, I'm not rewriting history. I could benchmark off of what my father did, or what my grandfather built, and off of all the people that came in between. So, I don't have to start from scratch." James Valleau (left) and Patrick Lewis work with rolled metal at Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals' facility in Wallingford. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER As a CT-based community bank, we've been serving local businesses for over 153 years. We offer a wide range of traditional financing solutions and specialize in SBA lending to help take your business to the next level of success. We can help build your business. TM To learn more, call our Business Banking team at 203.729.4442. Pictured L to R: Joel Mastroianni, Tracey San Angelo, and Garett Luciani. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender SBA Preferred Lender

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