We’re Celebrating 50 Years – Thanks, Dad!

Celebrating 50 Years of Hard Work, Heart, and Heat Treating!

Fifty years ago, my dad made a decision that would change everything. He didn’t have a roadmap, a big team, or a cushion to fall back on. What he did have was a strong back, a sharp mind, and a will to work – not just for himself, but for his family and his customers.

In 1975, Dad bravely started Kowalski Heat Treating with a simple vision: to offer reliable, honest heat treating services that his customers and staff could count on. The kind of place where your word meant something, your work mattered, and his name was tied to every part he touched, including putting the family name on the building!

He began with one salt bath furnace line purchased used, in a building that at one time was a bakery. Mom found a building facing Lake Erie on a major roadway, which gave us free advertising! Like so many great American businesses, it started with more grit than glamour. The early years weren’t easy – long days, tight margins, and more than a few sleepless nights. 

But Dad never wavered. He believed in doing things the right way, even when it was the hard way. Hard work, lots of heart, a strong faith, and belief in his employees. That belief became the backbone of our company. Dad showed us the incredible importance of working hard and playing equally hard!  He understood what living life to the fullest truly meant.

More than the machinery or the heat treating processes, it was his principles that built this place: Show up on time. Treat people with respect. Always do the job right – and if it’s not right, make it right. Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. And over the years, he has been dedicated to solving his customers’ problems – what we’ve come to call Solving Your PIA (Pain in the @%$) Jobs! (What a gift!!)

Growing up, I saw all that firsthand. I saw the sacrifices he made, the pride he took in every order, and the quiet satisfaction of a job well done. He wasn’t flashy, and he didn’t chase shortcuts. He just showed up, day after day, and gave it his all.  He passed that ethos on to me and my family, who work here today. I’m pretty sure, everything I know about leadership, about service, about character, and customer service, I learned from him.

Now, 50 years later, we’ve grown. We’ve adapted. We’ve modernized. Well beyond his expectations or plans, but the heart of who we are hasn’t changed, because it was built on a rock-solid foundation. 

Dad’s legacy lives on in every employee who takes pride in our craft, every customer who trusts us, and every part that leaves our floor.

So today, on our 50th anniversary year, I just want to say: Thanks, Dad.

Thanks for your courage. Thanks for your values. Thanks for giving me – and all of us – something worth building on. We’ll keep carrying the torch forward, with the same hands-on work ethic and commitment to excellence you showed us. And we hope to make you proud every step of the way. Here’s to 50 years, and to the man who started it all!

How did you do on last week’s logo contest?

Check out our logo guide for the “Fathers – Strength, Patience, Love” post here!