Hi there. My name is Mark Mitford with HR Catalyst, and today I have the pleasure of talking to a , a gentleman, Glen Morell , who's actually a director with Littlestown Foundry. And I know we're gonna have a fascinating conversation with Glen , because I know Glen , uh, actually, well, good morning, Glen . So how are you doing today?
I'm doing well, mark . Good morning.
Great, well, thanks so much. And of course, some of you may be inter , uh, actually reading or listening to this in the evening or the afternoon, but it's morning for us. So with that, so Glen , I would love to find out, I did a little bit of, I had the pleasure of getting a chance to meet with you last week and having a great discussion with you. So there's wonderful things we wanted to talk about.
But today we wanted to focus on today's podcast. We wanted to focus on all the great things that are happening in the Littlestown Foundry. And for the first thing, I , you know, it'd be interesting just to understand how, what is the history of Littlestown Foundry, because I know it's got a fascinating history.
So would you mind sharing a little bit about the history and, and how long you've been with the , uh, playing a part in the organization with our audience today?
Yes, thank you , mark. Um, I've been with the company for 39 years. The company was founded in 1916 by two brothers, Emory and Luther Snyder. Uh, in 1916, we started as a Gray Iron Foundry. Uh, it was in 1939 , uh, during the war, world War ii that , um, we produced our first aluminum castings , um, with D-Day being right around the corner.
Now , uh, our production during the war time was about 95 plus percent for the war effort. We made 1.9 million hand grenades and 2.1 million rifle grenades for the war effort, along with the assorted products like bomb plugs. In other words, the bomb was made and then , uh, they would fill the bomb with the explosive, and then our plug would cap that off. After World War ii, the business grew very rapidly.
Um, and with the introduction of our aluminum foundry, we introduced a line of , uh, awning hardware, industrial, commercial, and residential. We saw both businesses grow through the sixties and into the seventies. Um, when, at that time, imports from Japan and Korea, today it's China and Mexico, really affected the iron production. We ended our iron production in 1990.
In the early eighties, we began a modernization project for our aluminum foundry. At that time, we installed automatic bolting machines and robotic pouring.
Uh, those , uh, advanced up through the two thousands when we , uh, installed new automatic molding equipment , uh, on three lines and introduced electromagnetic pump pouring systems to transfer the metal from the , uh, holding furnaces into the sand molds that we make for our customers .
Wow, that's interesting. Thank you for the history lesson. It's just fascinating. So, so if I do my math correctly, I think you said that the foundry was the original, so it was started 105 years ago, correct?
That's correct. Wow,
That's, that is such a, very few companies, of course, make it to be, to celebrate a hundred years in business, so congratulations.
Well, thank you. We started with 16 employees, and today we have approximately 80.
Wow , that's so wonderful. So tell me about, it'd be great to just get a short overview and then we'll drill into it in a little more detail. But tell me a little bit about what was really the whole, the genesis behind the, the idea of creating a really good employee culture and creating a culture within the organization.
Where, where did that start from and , and just understanding the value of the employee for the organization.
That really started with our founders and continued with each , uh, of the successors. Um, one of the things we like to say is our competitors can buy the same equipment, the same raw materials. And , uh, what makes us different , different is our employees. They are the ones that hold it together and keep the product flowing, and it's our job to support them in those efforts.
Right. Wow, that is great. So, and it's interesting because so many companies, I , when I, when I think about we, we do write for , um, my company. We do, I do write blogs, I do write newsletters, blogs now and now they're called. But it's interesting, we, it's just to reinforce on your point, which is such a great point, that the only strategic differentiator a company has is its people, you know,
And that's our philosophy also, mark .
Right? That's huge because you can, you can replicate somebody else. Of course, a foundry would not that be that easy to set up because of the huge capital cost, but the key thing is really about your, your employees and really treating your employees as, as really as you wanna be treated, you know, as you as leaders or owners wanna be treated themselves.
So, so it'd be interesting to hear, 'cause I know you did share with me. So what are some of the, so tell me about some of the tenure of the employees that you have there. 'cause I, I just, I found that just mind boggling personally. So what is, I know it's probably not an average, but what are some of the links of services you've had your employees with you ?
Well, we recently celebrated our company President's 50th anniversary. I have had a great many employees retire with 40, 45, 50 years, and a couple with 55 years of service. one of those individuals with 55 years of service. At 17, he graduated Littletown High School and came to work for us. He retired 55 years later at 72 and never missed a day of work. Wow. That's incredible.
that is truly amazing that, you know, because nowadays I I , it's hard to say which study you're reading, but most of the time now, the average length of service for most employees is it's under three years. So most of the time it's two, two and a half . I know I've seen two , 2.3 years. But anyway, it's, it's when you have employees there for 30, 40, 50 plus years, that is just unbelievable.
So , um, what do you think when you're thinking about it now? Because on that note, you have, you, you know, we, we have, which is an amazing time in our industry. We have five generations working in the workforce currently. Yes .
So we have everything from baby boomers to, we have e down to Gen Zs, which is that newer, they were the ones who just really, they're probably, you know, early, maybe early to mid twenties now. How, how was the organization or have you done anything different differently in managing five generations in the workforce?
Well, you know, I believe the, the value of the employee is what matters most , um, to have open conversations with them. Uh, our doors are open. Anyone in the plant can come up, come into my office, come into the company, president's office , uh, and speak with us, express their concerns, know that they're being heard and listened to and listen to an action will be taken , uh, good, bad, or indifferent.
And the employee will be, will , will let know , um, the value of the employee. And that's both as an individual and as a group is a very, very strong concern for us. Mm-Hmm . We understand that people, people need to be listened to and that's, that's at times a difficult thing to do or to learn.
Right. It's , and that is so true because, and you know, the good, the, the fascinating thing here, Glen , is I've been in, I've been doing HR work for over 30 years, and it's, and it's the, what you just said would've resonated. Well , I started working in, I started working in the late eighties. Um, but what you said resonated back in the eighties, resonated in the nine , the nineties. Nothing's really ch changed.
And I think that one of the key things is that leaders, the recipe for being a good leader , um, is still very tried and true about listening to your employees about the idea of an open door policy is huge, and it's still a very major thing nowadays.
And so it's just fascinating that, you know, some of the things that the Foundry has been doing for years, they're , they're , they were applicable 20, 30, 40 years ago and they're still applicable today. So that's wonderful to hear.
So what are the things, so if you were giving some advice, and you may, you may actually have companies that call on you just because you have such a great reputation , um, what advice would you give for organizations that don't have a really good culture now, or they're trying to reinvent their culture because they've grown a lot, or maybe they've acquired another company or something like that.
What, what kind of sage advice would you give them around how would you start really either reinforcing or really creating a great culture within the organization?
Well, I think like any project mark , it needs to start from the top. If you don't have your top managers , uh, your president, your , uh, chairman of the board , uh, driving that initiative, it's going to flounder.
Uh, especially if, if someone is giving the task of changing that culture and they don't get that support that has , that to me is the biggest thing for any project that a company incorporates, is you've gotta have the, the top people behind the project. Right.
That is , you know what , it's , it's so true. And it's , it's great to hear you say that because , um, because it is so true. Because so many times organizations, it's a , um, I've, I've kind of jokingly, jokingly use the term, you know, management by magazine .
Sometimes, sometimes one of the executives goes on a business trip or they go to a conference, they read a magazine, and then boom, that's gonna be the flavor of the month. So yeah, we gotta do this guys, because we gotta focus on our culture this month.
And, but like you said, if it doesn't have staying power and it's truly not , uh, in the hearts of the leaders and it's not something that they're driving and reinforcing it , your culture will continue to be like a, almost like a rollercoaster ride. We , we'll just continue to ebb and flow.
And so the great thing is that you've had leaders over, over a hundred plus years that have, have definitely reinforced that since the , uh, since the initiation and the start of the organization.
I think , uh, as you say, the ebb and flow is really demoralizing to your workforce. Okay, we're behind this this month, but next month that goes on the back burner for, as you say, the flavor of the month .
Right, right. It's so true. So , um, with that, Glenn , why don't we just, you know what, we're gonna take a short break and it is just been a fascinating conversation with you and , um, but we'll take a short break and we'll come back to visit with our audience , uh, for the second half of the podcast in just a couple minutes. Thanks so much.
Thank you, mark.
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Thanks everybody for coming back to visit with us some more. And so I've got, again, I'm having a great conversation with Glen Morale and , um, Glen is a director with Littlestown Foundry, and we're having a great conversation, Glen . So thanks so much for your time and the , the, the, the great , um, responses. You've , uh, you've given me to the questions I was asking.
So how would you say our next question we wanted to focus on, because I know we have a lot of audience members and maybe business owners listening who have organizations that are smaller or middle market size companies, less than a hundred people, maybe less than 150 or 200 people.
How, you know, how do you think, how well do they really focus on creating a culture because they are smaller, and what do you think they , what are , what do you think are some of the challenges with a smaller organization to be able to create a great culture like you've created?
I think, I think the, the main challenge for someone in that position is they're too busy running or managing the day-to-Day activities to make sure that whatever product they're producing is getting out the door and , uh, don't look behind the door , uh, to see what's pushing that product through. So again, I go back to the value of the employee without, without our employees, we're nothing.
We are here to provide support for them so they can do their job and leave with the level of satisfaction and ownership of , of what they've done.
Right. That's so true. That's so true. And I know , so remind me , um, so Littlestown, how, how large is the community of Littlestown ?
The community is roughly 4,000 people. Okay. Uh, when I came it was roughly 3000 people . So we are experiencing some growth, mostly retirees moving up from Maryland.
Okay. Interesting. So what have you done, so what are some of the innovative or creative things you've done around hiring and both on the hiring front and, and then when you're thinking about recruiting, what are some of the things you've done in the last, the numbers of years that you've been associated with the founder ?
What are some interesting things that you would like to share with our audience around hiring or recruiting in such a small marketplace?
Well, we have had generations of families, their grandfather, their father, and their working here now, referrals from current employees tend to provide the best employees that we get. Um, they tell their friends or neighbors about the working conditions here. Uh, our walls are white, the foundry is well lit, there's no dust in the air.
Uh, a lot of the, let's call it bull work that was being done in a foundry has been automated from the pouring to the transfer of castings , uh, to some of the grinding operations and sign operations that we've automated through CNC machinery. So it's easier to get someone to come in and push a button than it is for them to , uh, uh, physically manhandle product.
There is still some of that involved, but we, we want to automate , uh, to make the job easier for the employees and produce a finer casting.
Right. So that , that's great to hear. So, and you know, the, the next question I was gonna ask was around some of the, so technology , uh, you know, both technology, well , automation of just the equipment you have, like you mentioned CNC machines, but also, have you done anything, like, have you done things around like a re like a manufacturing resource planning system?
Have you automated things that it will actually help to look at the workflow and the quality from a technology perspective too?
Yes. We have an ERP system that helps us manage our workloads , uh, and our order backlog. That system allows us to do everything from the accounting tasks through the production planning, through costing, through routings.
And , uh, with that we also have and have had in place for many, many years, just like the ERP system , uh, a preventative maintenance and predictive index that allows our maintenance department to keep our machinery running in top chain .
That's great. So, and you mentioned to me before when we, when we spoke , um, Glen , what are, obviously you , it sounds like you have a really rich benefits program for your employees. So can you just share, just give, give our audience today a little bit of an overview , uh, what you do from an employee benefits to perspective to really look at taking care of the employee?
Um, yes. Uh, our benefits package is very, very rich. We , um, the employee pays 10% of the insurance premium for themselves and 30% for their families. We offer , uh, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, vision and dental at no cost to our employees. We have a traditional defined benefit pension plan that is 100% employer funded , and in addition, we have a 401k plan. The 401k plan has a match of 25%.
If you're over the age of 50, we'll match that , uh, catchup contribution that you're allowed to make. In addition, we hold employee appreciation lunches. We have a summer company picnic, a Christmas party at the end of the year. So there are many ways that we try to recognize and reward our employees for their hard work.
Right. That is wonderful. So how, because being, again, being in HR for as long as I have, how have you, have there ever been any questions? Because obviously, like you said, you use a great term, it's a rich package, you offer your employees, how have you, has there ever ever been any questions about making it not as rich because it is so expensive to actually offer that ?
Has there ever been any debates within the leadership to say, well, we really, we can't afford it any longer because of other pressures in the marketplace? And have there those conversations happened and what, what was the, it sounds like the outcome, I know the outcome, but what were those conversation around possibly not making it as rich a benefits package?
We started our 401k plan in 1997. Uh, there were some lean years. During those lean years. Our match can range from zero to 25%. One year, the match was 15%, two years, the match was 20%, and it's been 25% ever since then. Um, our reason for being here in Littlestown is to provide jobs to this, this town, this industry, and make our business grow and be profitable.
As I said earlier, the value of the employees is, is key for us. We wanna be here another a hundred years providing good paying jobs with rich benefits for our employees.
Wow. That is, that's so great to hear because it is, unfortunately, I hear some business owners who, they're, they , they're , they don't have the same thinking.
I guess I'll just be , I'll just be concise and just say that, that they just feel like, you know, as with the pressure, especially around healthcare costs, because those continue to go up, and I'm sure with the workforce you have, you've got people who are 40 50, you may have, may have some folks that are in their sixties who are still actively working in the foundry.
It's, you know, healthcare costs, you know, a lot of that's gonna go up with the age of your , uh, workforce. So it's so great to hear.
It's kinda like , uh, it's almost refreshing to hear that there are some almost non-negotiables around creating an employee friendly culture that, you know, you're not going to, you're not going to make less rich or you're not gonna try to save a couple of bucks here and there and making sure that the, the, the employee is going to be coming out.
The employees is that person who's a , who's the most important within the organization.
Mark, we even pay 70% of a retirees Medigap plan.
Wow.
We've done that since the eighties. And , uh, hopefully we'll be able to continue that. We've held that, that premium payment for the retirees at 70% , uh, through that time.
Right. That's great. And then one other thing, which is truly fascinating. You, you, we talked about to your employee , the employee housing. So why don't you share for our audience a little bit about how the employee housing works, because it truly is, and it's interesting because you do live in a s you, you are in a smaller community.
So what, how, tell us a little bit about what the employed housing program looks like.
Well, the foundry is located right in the middle of the town. Uh, the square is less than a block away. And , uh, we're, since we're in the middle of town, the , uh, surrounding houses , uh, would become available. And starting in the fifties , uh, the founders were still living at that time, they lived to be age 96 and 97.
Um, they started buying houses , uh, both to insulate the foundry from neighbors, but also to put , uh, our employees there. Um, it's very, very nice to have a maintenance man living right next door so that if any emergency would come up, they're ready to step up and go. Um, the, the housing situation , uh, is very, very difficult, as I'm sure you're aware right now.
So having a , a number of houses with apartments in them has been very, very beneficial to our employees. Some have lived in those company houses for 30 or 40 years, so , uh,
Uh , that is great. Yeah , and that's truly , um, that's truly fascinating. Um, also I think because you, you talked about some of the technology changes you've made and just how clean an environment it is. You, you received a number of accolades, haven't you, just to be recognized as such a great organization, not even just in the foundry world, but also just a great organization.
So why don't you share a little bit about, even with everything you do for your culture and probably the cost of that, you're able to run a, a high quality , high profitable organization?
Well, in the foundry industry, the American Foundry Society named us the best green sand match plate molding foundry for aluminum in North America. Quality Magazine has ranked us in the top 10 in the United States for about the past 10 plus years. We have won many, many supplier awards, and we have two William Frout award winners that came from the Foundry.
Now, most people don't know Colonel William Frout , but he made the first commercial aluminum casting, it sits on top of the Washington Monument. For a foundry to have one award winner is, is outstanding. To have two is unheard of . Wow . Wow . Yeah, those are that's amazing. Two things we're proud of.
That's amazing. Well, you know , you're , you're , you're definitely, you should be proud for many reasons because of those accolades. So it just shows that everything you're doing, even though there's, there's quite a bit of, I'm sure there's huge cost involved in the employee benefits you offer, you are probably quite profitable. And you also , um, you, you can also run a high quality shop.
So just, it goes back to the pride the employees probably have within where they work and the work environment they're in, which is great to hear.
So , um, so for business owners that are listening that really are fascinated with what you've said about culture and how important it is , if there were some that say, you know what, after hearing this, I really feel like I'm a little bit convicted about I really need , need to do something from a cultural perspective.
Where, where do you think, where, where do you think, because culture is such a big thing, where do you think, what are some ideas and some thoughts you have around where should they start
Again? Uh , mark , I go back to the appreciate your employees, get to know them as a person. I know many of , uh, our employee's, spouses, and their children. Um, the other day a newspaper article was in of one of our employee's sons in a baseball game. I read the article, I spoke to the employee, and his reaction was just pride in his child. He was happy. I recognized that that's something you can't buy, mark.
That's so true. So kind of on that note around Pride Glen , so what, with your lengthy service, with your tenure at the Foundry, what are you the most proud of? If there was one thing you're the most proud of at the Foundry and being associated with it, what is that one thing?
Well, for me, mark, it's, it's being with just a great group of people. Um, I've enjoyed my experience here from, let's say the day I walked in until now. Um, I do stop in a couple of days a week , uh, get asked questions, tour the foundry, say hello to everyone. And , uh, that, that's probably what I'm the, the group of people I've been associated with .
Right. That is so great. So thank you so much for the conversation, Glenn . It was really insightful and it's really , um, it , it is just great to hear, you know, that you've , with everything going on and so many, I'm sure the Foundry industry and as a whole within the United States has been challenged in a lot of ways with just global competition.
But , you know , I go back to what I mentioned earlier about you have a , you have a recipe for success , which you've obviously you you put in place many, many years ago with the, with the actual founders and the owners of the organization, and they still are very tried and true today, which is wonderful to hear.
So, so I wanted to ask you just, I wanted to kind of migrate over to just asking you a couple of fun things about , um, and I'm sure, I don't know if you're an avid book reader or not, but , uh, what if you, if there's any three books that you would recommend, whether they're around leadership or culture or just books in general, what would those three books you'd recommend to our audience be?
Um, we're big believers at Dale Carnegie here at the plan . Okay . Um, supervisors and managers go to their courses, how To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is one the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and a book called Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud . Um, the relationship there is to a Rose Bush as it's growing, it needs trimming.
And , uh, those thoughts in the back of the mind , uh, there really make that an interesting book. And if I can add one more Sure, sure . Book called Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner. It's about watermen, crabs, and the Chesapeake Bay. Great
. That is great. So, wow, that's a great list. And I know there's some of those that are tried and true. You know, the, the Dale Carnegie series, just a great, you know, it's very timeless, the Stephen Covey seven Habits, again, a very timeless read for our audience. So, and the last question I want to ask you just for one fun thing.
So, so if you could, if you could, if you were in a , if you had a time machine, what would you tell, or not even if you could go back to being 16, but what would you tell your 16-year-old self today as to what's, what's something that you've learned through your, your extensive professional career? What's something you would you would tell your 16-year-old self to do differently?
I think I would look back, and you've gotta remember the cost of college in 1975 when I went, was not what it is today in 2024, but if I were a 16-year-old today, I would take a hard look at , uh, trade schools. Mm-Hmm . Um, how hard is it to find a plumber or an electrician? How hard is it to find a machinist for our machine shop?
I think these are paths that , uh, individuals can get into and make a very, very good living without a four plus year investment into higher education. Um , that's my thoughts today.
No, that is great because it is so true.
And I know that's , um, the , um, where I live, so I live in Dallas , the Dallas area, so we are growing leaps and bounds and one of the biggest, one of the biggest things, one of the biggest challenges in our labor market is finding good trace people, because unfortunately, well , good or bad, and again, nothing, I , I have several degrees, so I shouldn't say this, but there are some people who are, who are
truly, they're not geared towards going to a four year year university, and they are great with their hands and they love mechanical things. Something breaks and they know how to fix it. And like you said, there are, you can make an extremely great living , um, by being a trace person. And , um, there's go , there's always gonna be that need. So, which is, which is, which is great to hear.
So , um, so where's so Glenn , if people wanted to know about more about Littlestown Foundry and they're fascinated by it, how could they either get in touch with you or how would they find out? What is the website for Littlestown Foundry?
It's www.littlestownfoundry.com. There is a link there for anyone that would want to contact me, or they can just contact me at my email address, which is G-L-E-N-M-O-R-R-E-L [email protected] .
Great. Well, thank you so much, Glen . This has truly been a , this, I love doing this part of what , uh, my, I could say this is my job, but it's really, it's more of a, it's more of a passion of mine too, because you find out , um, I was very, I got to meet Jared Weaver, who the executive director of the , um, of a society, a nonprofit that actually brings foundries together.
And I was very fortunate and blessed that I was able to speak there earlier this year at a conference. So it's just fa it's fascinating knowing this whole industry, which is a very vibrant, probably multi-billion dollar industry in the US still is alive and well. And it's great to hear, and it's great to share, get your insights today with you, Glen .
So again, I appreciate your, your time and your thoughts and have a great rest of your day, Glen , and we will talk to our audience. We'll talk soon and we'll look forward to our next conversation. Thanks so much. Bye-Bye.
Thank you for the opportunity, mark .
You're welcome. Thank you.